99th Hunger Games: A Tropical Paradise
by Errow
Summary: The 99th Hunger Games are sure to be filled with twists and turns! Send in your very own tribute and watch as they are hurled into an arena and forced to fight to the death against 23 other tributes.
1. Author's Note

**The 99****th**** Hunger Games**

A/N: Okay, so this chapter is only going to be a long authors note, explaining the plan for this story, and specifying some details. PLEASE READ THIS, It's very important to the story.

Okay, so first of all, I want to say thank you all for these amazing tributes. They are great characters and I'm sure you will enjoy reading about them.

I would like you all to know that I will be very committed to this story. I will not rest until it is done. I will most likely be updating every day. Some days, I will, however let you know when I can't update the next day and I promise that my readers will always be very well informed. Speaking of well informed, I will be going on vacation to Italy on the week of the 25th of June, so I don't think I will be able to update that week. But, while I'm gone, I will write some, and have a chapter or two for you all when I get back.

For the sponsor system, you should probably read the chapter entitled, "Sponsor System" This explains the gist of the whole thing. In that chapter, It will also include a list of all my readers names and their sponsor points (SP). I will update the list of SP for every chapter I write of the story, so it would be wise of you to often look back to that chapter.

As the games begin, I ask you to please keep reviewing and following the story. I know the beginning may be kind of boring, hearing about all of these characters. But, it will pick up to a fast paced story. This is basically the order in which I will write: Reapings, Chariot rides, Interviews, Training, Gamemaker scoring, Bloodbath, then day-by-day in the games. If there is anything else you guys would like to see in the story, you can always reach me by PM.

Lastly, let the games begin! Please check back often for updates, and I promise to keep you satisfied! Happy Hunger Games!

Your Gamemaker,

Bluebird


	2. Final Tribute List

**Final tribute list**

District 1:

M- Markus Patilat (Katnissfire87654)

F-Alana Lukasiak (Basketball1029)

District 2:

M- Kyvan Taanson (Jakey121)

F- Mary Crosetti (Basketball1029)

District 3:

M- Zayden "Mr. Obvious" Joyce (Watch ur back12)

F- Contra Lerr (Stnaley)

District4:

M- Adrian Morgan (ShillaS)

F- Katri "Kat" Spectral (Katnissfire87654)

District 5:

M- Tobias "Toby" Plander (TheMasterSlytherin)

F- Ava Garrison (ShillaS)

District 6:

M- Turk Ridley **BB**

F- Shaylee Reserite (AuthorChick96)

District 7:

M- Perry Nightheart (jakey121)

F- Blaze Phoenix (Miss Unaprochable)

District 8:

M- Gaven Incendi **BB**

F- Raven "Ray" Lux (DarknessOnMyEyes)

District 9:

M- Roland Nicks **BB**

F- Maroon Fauling (SoHighAboveMe)

District 10:

M- Maxus Jagger (SoHighAboveMe)

F- Isabelle "Lizzy" (TheHungerGamesFan01)

District 11:

M- Ello Holtz **BB**

F- Fig Crest (d11olive-24)

District 12:

M- Liam Dawnfell (minimojo99)

F- Florence "Fizz" Moon (rOxx11)

**AHHHHHHHH! We're done! I'm so freaking excited! Okay…calming down. So, this is the final tribute list and I want to say thank you guys so much. I absolutely adore all of the wonderful characters. Just so you know, the tributes with "BB" next to their name will be Bloodbath tributes. BB tributes are just random names that I made up and will die in the bloodbath. I will not be writing about Reapings or interviews for BB tributes. **

**I will now be deleting some of my past chapters and posting a long authors note, explaining my plan for this story, so please read that!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	3. Sponsor System

**Sponsor System**

Here's the sponsor system. Anybody can participate as a sponsor, by earning points and spending them on a tribute. Please read this, it's important to understanding the games.

**How to earn points:**

Submitting a tribute: 40 points

Writing a review (an actual review, not just a few words): 2 points

Submitting an idea (up to 5)(Not about the arena, I've already planned that out): 5 points

Gamemaker's score (You will receive the score you got in points): 1-12 points

Going into the cornucopia: 10 points

Each person your tribute kills: 20 points

Making it past the blood bath: 10 points

Making it to the final twelve: 15 points

**What to spend points on:**

**Food-**

Small strip of meat: 20 points

Large strip of meat: 40 points

Loaf of bread: 40 points

One fruit (apples, pears, oranges, etc.): 15 points

Water bottle: 10 points

Iodine bottle: 35 points

**Weapons-**

Dagger: 50 points

Sword: 70 points

Bow: 85 points

Ten arrows: 45 points

Ten throwing knives: 65 points

Axe: 65 points

Land mine: 45 points

Spear: 50 points

If you want to request another weapon, you can PM me about it.

**Misc.-**

Slightly powerful medicine of your choice: 45 points

Very powerful medicine of your choice: 75 points

First aid kit (includes band aids, gauze, pain relievers, and disinfectant): 50 points

Sleeping bag: 40 points

Matches: 20 points

Boat: 100 points

One gallon of gasoline: 30 points

**Current Points Earned:**

D11olive-24: 60 points

Basketball1029: 116 points

ShillaS: 142 points

Miss Unaprochable: 69 points

Jakey121: 142 points

Katnissfire87654: 120 points

Watch ur back12: 82 points

Minimojo99: 59 points

TheMasterSlytherin: 97 points

AuthorChick96: 64 points

ROxx11: 65 points

Stnaley: 60 points

SoHighAboveMe: 121 points

TheHungerGamesFan01: 64 points

ilovecato27: 5 points

DarknessOnMyEyes: 60 points

**A/N: Okay, so this is the sponsor system. Fairly simple right? When the games begin, you can just PM me about what you want to purchase. Also, if there is anything you would suggest I add to the list, you can PM me about that. I know some things on the list may seem useless, but when you see the arena, they will make sense. I will be updating this chapter along with every chapter I add for the actual story, so check back here often to see how may points you have.**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	4. District 1 Reaping

**Reaping: District 1**

**POV: Alana Lukasiak (18) submitted by basketball1029**

"ALANA!" A shrill voice jerks me awake from my peaceful sleep. "ALANA COME DOWNSTAIRS SO I CAN DO YOUR HAIR!" my mother screams again.

I let out an annoyed grunt as I get out of bed. As I walk downstairs and see my mother excitedly rushing around the room. "Alana! You have bags under your eyes, we can't have you looking tired when you volunteer!"

I give her a harsh glare before responding, "Would you just shut up about how I look?" I say sharply.

She ignores my comment and starts brushing my hair. When she begins to pin it up I slap her hands away. "No, I want to wear it down, it makes me look sexier." I say while I fluff my long, wavy blonde hair.

She starts to argue, but gives up and goes to grab my dress. "Speaking of which, here you go, darling." She says while smiling at the dress.

I gasp at the dress. "Thank you mom, it's gorgeous!" I say excitedly as I hug her. Then I grab it from her and run upstairs to change into a very nice looking short golden dress, matching my hair. I slip on my pair of three inch heels. Then I put on my golden anklet, that will be my token for the games. I put on a little makeup and head back I get back downstairs my parents are waiting for me.

My father comes up to hug me. "Remember your training. You are strong, and don't forget that. Today, the most important thing is confidence. Show them that you will win." He says while I nod. My father has been helping me prepare for the games ever since I was a little girl. He's tough, and I know he's given me a lot of strength. I want to make him proud, and if that means winning the games, I will win.

I hastily eat breakfast, fix my hair one last time, and head out to the center of town. Peacekeepers and children are everywhere. I check in and quickly head to the eighteen year old section. When I arrive, I see my best friend, Cassandra running towards me."Alana!" She shrieks while she envelops me in a bear hug. "I'm gonna miss you so much!"

"I know, I'm gonna miss you too, but I promise I'll come back." I say in my best confident voice. We chat for a couple more minutes about boys, school, and normal girl stuff before the ceremony begins.

A short woman comes up to the stage and begins the video, then makes a short speech about the Games. The whole time, I'm just preparing for my minute of glory. After what seems like forever, she walks over to the girls bowl and pulls a name out. "Nika Lenox!" She yells excitedly. A girl from the 14 year old section begins walking, but before the peacekeepers can grab her, I make my move.

I quickly give Cassandra's hand a squeeze, and begin yell. "I volunteer as tribute!" All eyes turn to me as I put a vicious smile on my face and strut towards the stage.

"Ah! How wonderful, what is your name, darling?" The escort asks while holding the microphone up to my mouth.

"Alana Lukasiak," I say in a voice that I know would make my father proud. The escort smiles and continues on with the ceremony.

**POV: Markus Patilat (18) Submitted by Katnissfire87654**

I wake up to the buzzing sound of my alarm. I quickly realize that today's the day. I'm going to volunteer. I smile as I walk towards the bathroom to take a shower. When I get out of the shower I look into the mirror to fix my hair. My shaggy black hair droops down barely above my bright green eyes. I smile at myself and get dressed. Once I have everything ready I head downstairs where my whole family is waiting.

"Hey Markus! Are you excited?" My brother, Matt asks.

"Um…Yeah." I say like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Matt gives me a sneer and continues eating his breakfast.

"Do you have your token?" My mom asks.

"No, I forgot it." I say it a sarcastic voice. Then, I show her my token, a black leather bracelet fastened around my wrist. It has _Markus_ sewn into it with silver thread.

My mom and dad talk amongst each other for a couple minutes while I talk strategy with my sister, Peyton. Peyton won the games when she was eighteen, so she can actually help me a lot in preparation. My parents help a lot as well. They own a training center, where I have been working since I was 5. My family is devoted to the Hunger Games, and I know that I can win.

"So remember, you have to show everyone that you're the leader. Get the careers to follow you, and you'll be good."

Eventually, I get tired of Peyton giving me orders. "Okay, Peyton, I can figure out my strategy on my own." I say as I get ready to leave. My mom and dad both give me a hug before I walk out the door.

"See you there!" my mom yells.

When I arrive at the reaping, it's already filled with people. I check in and head to the eighteen year old section, waiting for it to start. I don't talk to anyone, I like being alone. I need to think independently, without all these people butting in with their own opinions.

Finally, the escort begins the reaping. I watch intently as a young girl is called up, but another volunteers for her. It's obvious that this girl is a career. She confidently walks up to the stage and gives the crowd a stunning smile while announcing her name. _Alana,_ I remember her. I've seen her training before. I remember that she's good with throwing knives. I make a mental note to get with her while training. If I'm going to lead the careers, I'll need her behind me.

Soon, the escort is pulling a boys name from the bowl and I'm yelling before she can even announce the name. "I volunteer!" I yell and walk up to the stage just as confidently as she did. The escort asks my name. "Markus Patilat!" I say while giving the audience a little flex of my muscles.

Then, I look over to Alana who is giving me a flirtatious smile. I smirk and nod my head back to her before we shake hands. _I'm gonna win._ I think to myself while smiling at the crowd.

"I give you your district 1 tributes for the 99th Hunger Games!" The escort exclaims while the audience erupts in cheers.

**A/N: AHHHHHH! This is so exciting! Here's your first reaping, darlings. I just had to write this out of excitement. I love both of these characters, and all the other tributes. What do you guys think of our district 1 tributes? Comments? Questions? Ideas? I'll probably put up the district 2 reaping relatively soon, but we still don't have enough tributes to actually start the games! Come on guys, send me some applications!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird.**


	5. District 2 Reaping

**Reaping: District 2**

**POV: Mary Crosetti (17) Submitted by Basketball1029**

"Mary, wake up. The reaping is today!" A young girl's voice whispers excitedly. I open my eyes and turn over in my bed to see Cassie, my little sister. I can tell she is scared, even though she's trying to put on a brave face.

"Good morning Cassie!" I say as I jump out of bed.

"Mary, do you promise to come home?" She asks with a wavering voice.

"Yes, I promise. I wouldn't volunteer if I didn't think I'd win." I say while kneeling down to her height and giving her a hug.

She smiles and runs out of my room reassured. I head over to my closet to change into my reaping outfit. I'm wearing a black halter dress that drops down around my knees with matching black heels. I brush out my long brown hair in the mirror, it hangs straight down to my mid back. I stand up and look at myself, wondering if I'll appear strong enough. I've always been rather petite, but I am a career, and in reality, I'm very strong.

I walk downstairs and grab some breakfast. Eventually my Mom and Cassie join me. "Does Dad know I'm volunteering?" I ask my mom in between bites of my toast.

"Yeah, I told him. He'll be at the reaping." She said distantly. I can tell by her voice that my Dad didn't care much when he heard the news. I'm kind of distant with my dad, my parents are divorced and I live with my mom, so I don't see him much.

We finish eating breakfast in silence before it's time to go. I hold Cassie's hand as we walk to the check in and get in line. "Remember, Mary, you gotta scare them! Look intimidating!" Cassie says before we part ways.

I let out a little chuckle and hug her goodbye, "I will, Cass, I'll be the scariest career they've ever seen." Cassie smiles and enters the twelve year old section while I enter the seventeen year old section.

Soon, I spot my best friend, Christina. She's looking for me. "Hey Christina!" I say as I hug her excitedly.

She's worried, I can tell by her face. "Mary! I don't think you should do this. What'll I do if you don't come home?" She says anxiously.

"Don't worry, I'll be home so soon, you won't even notice I've been gone" I say while waving off her questioning tone.

"Welcome, and happy Hunger Games!" The escort exclaims as our attention is pulled to the stage. She shows a video and makes a quick speech. I fiddle my hands over my token that I'll bring into the arena. It's a silver chain bracelet with a piece of granite attached to it. "Ladies first!" The escort says while giggling in excitement. "Marlena McFee" She said while unfolding the slip of paper.

A girl that seems my age begins walking up to the stage, but I interject. "I volunteer as tribute!" I say while I approach the stage. I stand proudly on the stage and face the audience, announcing my name. The escort is grinning wildly as she moves onto the boy's bowl.

**POV: Kyvan Taanson (15) Submitted by jakey121**

I slowly open my droopy eyes to my sun filled room. I look around and quickly notice my white shirt, black tie, trousers, and dress shoes laid out on the end of my bed. I remember laying it out last night for some reason.

Then it hits me, _Tonday's the reaping._ I smile a little and begin putting on my reaping outfit. I look into the mirrior and fix my hair. My dark brown hair sweeps across my forehead above my eye. I grimace at my reflection when I notice the scar. It's always been there, but sometimes I forget. It's a long scar, slicing from my left eyebrow, across my nose to my right cheek. I remember the moment when that throwing knife sliced it open. Most people say it makes me look tough as a first impression, but when they get to know me, they realize I'm not a vicious, blood-thirsty career. I'm tough, don't get me wrong. I've been training since I was 5, but I'm not a spoiled brat like most careers. I'm kind and friendly. I make friends, not enemies. But today I'll have to hide away the nice-guy thing a bit. I have to really look like a career when I volunteer today.

I go into the kitchen and eat quickly, my dad is nowhere to be found. Usually my dad's the only one around. My mom left us. I also have a sister named Jasmine, but she lives with her husband and I only get to see her once a week. I hope I'll get to see her when I volunteer today.

I quickly slip my token around my neck and head out the door. My token is a locket, it has a picture of my friends on one side, and then a picture of my family on the other. I slowly fiddle with it as I enter the large town center. I smile at some of my friends as I walk by, and head towards the long line of people checking in.

As I wait in line, I watch the little boy in front of me. He's probably thirteen, only two years younger than me, but he still looks small. Maybe that's because I'm so big for my age. Anyways, I watch the kid look around with glassy eyes. His fear is evident. I want to tell him that he doesn't have to worry, because I'm volunteering, but I can bring myself to say it. Why do I still feel like I shouldn't be volunteering? I have to volunteer. My Dad says the reason why Mom left was because she doubted I could volunteer. I'll prove her wrong. I'll make my dad proud. But I still feel like I'm not a career. I shouldn't be volunteering, that's not the kind of guy I am.

I shake the doubtful thoughts out of my mind as I step up to get my finger pricked. Soon, I'm waiting for the escort to start.

"Welcome and happy Hunger Games!" The escort yells into the microphone excitedly. The boring movie starts and I pretend to watch. Every few seconds I look around the crowd. Eventually, I spot Dad and Jasmine in the back of the crowd. They smile confidently at me and I suddenly feel much stronger.

"Ladies first!" The escort yells as she reaches her hand into the fish bowl filled with paper. A girl I don't know is called up, and then another volunteers. This girl is older than me. She looks strong, but she's shorter than me. Well, I've always been pretty tall. The girl has confidence and I only hope that I can look as happy as her.

"Now for the gentlemen." The escort announces while plucking a name from the pile. My heart beat is picking up, and for some reason I can't hear the name that's announced. Soon I see a boy walking up the stairs to the stage. I quickly recognize him as the boy I saw in line earlier. He's crying, it's very evident that he's also cowering in fear of the girl up on stage.

After what seems like forever, I pull myself together and realize that I need to volunteer, now. "I volunteer as tribute!" My voice booms through the crowd, surprisingly demanding. I briskly walk up to the stage, where the young boy is exiting. I smile at him, glad that I at least could save his life with all of this.

"What's your name, son?" The escort asks.

"Kyvan Taanson." I say with a determined smile. The audience cheers and I find my confidence, bowing for them with a jocular laugh.

I shake the other tribute's hand and smile at the crowd once again as we both exit the stage.

**A/N: There you go, darlings! District 2. Please tell me what you guys think of these characters. I think that both of these guys are much more down to earth than other careers. We'll see what happens to them later. **

**The reason I'm posting this chapter now is because I won't be able to post a chapter**** tomorrow****. I'll be at an amusement park all day tomorrow, so no Hunger Games :( only awesome roller coasters! Just in case you guys are wondering, yes, I do go on every single roller coaster. I'm a bad-ass thrill seeker. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put some aloe on my very bad sunburn that I received at the beach today. Yes...I'm quite irresponsible with my sunscreen. Well, until next time!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	6. District 3 Reaping

**POV: Contra Lerr (15) Submitted by stnaley.**

I wake up to the sound of footsteps downstairs. It's probably mom preparing breakfast. Suddenly, I realize why mom's up so early. Today's the reaping.

This day only comes once a year, but I feel like it comes way too soon. Nobody around here is happy on Reaping day, especially since Camron. Camron was my brother, he got reaped a few years back and died in the games. I'll never forget him. Ever since he died, I've had a tiny feeling in my gut that I'll meet the same fate. It would be just my luck to get reaped, but I don't let my mind delve very deep into those thoughts.

I get out of my bed and walk over to the small dresser containing all of my clothes. Slowly, I put on the grey dress that I wear to the reaping every year and head towards the mirror to fix my hair. My dark hair looks especially black today, matching my eyes. I brush through it a couple times then put on my glasses. I eye all the knives laid out on my dresser. I was up late last night working with them. Ever since Camron I guess you could say I've been a bit paranoid. It started out with me just stealing a knife from the kitchen and waving it around in my hands. But since then, it's grown into a habit. Almost every night, I work with my knives, practicing just in case I get reaped.

"Contra, honey, I've got breakfast for you!" My mom calls in a slightly shaky voice. It's obvious she's trying to hide her fear. She also worries about me getting reaped like Camron.

"Coming!" I reply in my usual confident voice. I always have a way of appearing confident even when I don't want to. Monita says that's why some people don't like me. Monita is my best friend, she's one of the only friends I've got. I guess she's right, sometimes I appear a bit stuck up.

I walk downstairs and grab a bowl of oatmeal, the usual. Soon, my dad enters the room. He's holding something. "You forgot something." He says while opening his hand.

I smile when I see the computer chip in his hand. "Thanks dad." I say while taking it and putting it in the pocket of my dress. The computer chip was originally my dad's, then he gave it to Camron for his token in the games. When Camron died, my dad gave it to me in case I ever go to the games. I must of forgotten it somewhere last night.

"You'd better go, hon." My mom says to me with the same fearful voice.

" Okay, I'll see you guys there." I smile at them and walk out the door.

As I make my way to the Reaping, I meet up with Monita. We enter the fifteen year olds section and wait for the ceremony to start.

When the escort comes out I stifle a little giggle "She's a joke." I whisper to Monita.

Monita lets out a little laugh, but then returns to a worried face.

"Now, for the Reaping!" The escort says while approaching the girl's bowl. I hold my breath as I watch her finger all the names, teasing us. Finally, she pulls a name out and reads it aloud. "Contra Lerr," She says excitedly.

I immediately realize that she called my name. Monita gives me a horrified face, but I just smile at her, and start walking through the crowd. It's not that I'm happy, I just like the challenge. And it's not like I didn't expect this.

When I arrive at the stage, the escort is beaming at me. "Wonderful! Now, lets move onto the boys!" She says in her shrill voice.

**POV: Zayden "Mr. Obvious" Joyce (15) Submitted by watch ur back12.**

I wake up to the feeling of sunlight, warming my face. I get up quickly, remembering that today's the reaping. I know this isn't my year to volunteer, but it's still exciting. I guess you could say I'm a career, even though I'd never ally with those scum. I've been training for nine years now, and it's just my way of life.

I put on my reaping outfit of blue shorts and a white t-shirt which outlines my muscles. I go to the bathroom and take out my gel to subtly spike up my hair in the usual way.

Soon, I'm ready for the day and I enter the kitchen. Tala and Josh are sitting at the table, talking excitedly about the games. Tala is my twin sister, and Josh is my younger brother. They both enjoy the games just as much as anybody in our family.

"No way, tridents are so much cooler than throwing knives!" Josh argues.

"Throwing knives are the ultimate long and short ranged weapon, seriously." Tala replies.

"Guys, calm down. We all know machetes are the coolest, and the ladies love 'em!" I butt in with a smirk.

Tala gives me a sneer. "Oh Zayden, you really have to stop being such a ladies man."

"What can I say, the ladies love me!' I bark while eating an apple.

"You're so annoying sometimes." Tala mumbles, then walks out of the kitchen.

"So, Josh, are you excited?" I ask.

"Duh! The games are the coolest thing ever!" He replies with a witty voice. Even though he's only nine, I can already tell that he's a lot like me.

Soon, my parents enter and hug the three of us goodbye before we head off to the reaping. While we walk towards the town center, a couple of Tala's friends approach us.

"Hey! It's Mr. Obvious!" One of the girls yells as they all rush over.

"Hello, ladies." I say while giving them each a nod of my head. A few blush while Tala fakes a gag.

"Zayden, please stop with my friends, they're off limits." Tala growls.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." I say while pretending to be completely oblivious to my flirting. Tala sneers and drags her friends away while I give one of them a wink.

"Sometimes, I don't understand women." I say to Josh.

"Yeah they're all crazy." Josh replies.

I say goodbye to Josh as we separate into our age groups and the ceremony starts. The escort Is giggling while she reaches a hand into the girl's bowl.

"Well, someone's excited." I mumble to the boy standing next to me, referring to the plastic looking escort in front of us.

"Contra Lerr!" The escort yells. I recognize the name immediately. She's my age, but I can't seem to place her face. When she walks up to the stage, I recognize her smile. I've seen her around before. She's not one of Tala's friends. Actually, I think Tala might have mentioned hating this girl once. She's confident, very confident.

Soon, the eyes leave Contra and move to the boy's bowl. The escort dips her hand in, and grabs a piece of paper. "Zayden Joyce!" she yells into the microphone. My eyes widen a bit, but I keep my cool. If there's anything I've learned from my training, it's that you always have to keep your cool. I'm ready for this, I'm practically a career, I've been training forever. I was going to volunteer eventually, this is just a few years early.

I walk up to the stage and see the fear in Tala's eyes as I pass her. I smile at her and continue up the stage. I can tell that everyone's sizing me up as I look back at the audience. When I'm on the stage, I shake Contra's hand "You can call me Mr. Obvious." I say quietly with a smirk. She smiles back and we quickly exit the stage.

**A/N: Go district 3! Both these tributes are very interesting and were so fun to write! Do you guys like the tributes so far? Drop me a review or two! More soon.**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**

**P.S. HAPPY FATHERS DAY!**


	7. District 4 Reaping

**POV: Katri "Kat" Spectral (16) Submitted by Katnissfire87654.**

"Hey Orchid, It's time to wake up, today's the reaping!' I say to my twin sister, Orchid.

"Good morning Kat." She says as I help her out of bed. This is the routine I follow every morning, first thing I do is wake up Orchid and help her to the bathroom. Orchid is blind, she always has been, and I always care for her. She is one of the few people I trust with my life and love with all my heart. I would never hurt her. Some people assume I'm a nice girl because of the way I treat Orchid, but that's just for my sister. I can be cold, manipulative, and bloodthirsty when I need to be. That's why my parents think I make a good career.

When Orchid gets out of the bathroom, I enter and prepare for the reaping. I tie my golden-red hair back so it doesn't get in my face. My freckles and red hair often got me teased when I was little, but I would eventually show those kids who was boss with a split lip or two.

When I arrive downstairs, Mom and Dad are with orchid, eating breakfast. My parents are both victors of the Hunger Games, so it's kind of a thing in our family to be a career. Orchid, would never go into the Games, of course. My Parents kind of rely on me to continue our family legacy. I've been training since I was seven, my parents know I'll make a great tribute in the games, and they expect me to win. My Mom is a very intelligent woman, she says I get my intelligence from her. My Dad thinks I get my manipulative side from him. I believe it. My dad can be a very diabolical man, and I'm quite similar.

"So, you guys should get going soon. The reaping's going to start and you guys wouldn't want to be late," My mom says while giving us a hug goodbye.

"Okay, lets go Orchid." I say while taking my sister's arm in mine. We walk out the door and head towards the reaping.

"I'm glad you're not volunteering this year." Orchid says quietly as we walk.

"Yeah, me too. I've got two more years to train." I reply.

"Are there a lot of people?" She asks, while motioning towards the crowd.

"Yeah, I wonder which one's going to the Capitol."

Once we get checked in, the two of us walk into the sixteen year old section and wait. Occasionally, I describe what a person looks like when Orchid asks.

"Welcome, and happy Hunger Games!" The escort says as she walks up the stage.

"Well she's not overdressed." I say in a sarcastic voice as I take in her hot pink gown.

"I can only imagine what that tramp is wearing." Orchid says while giggling.

"Ladies first!" The escort retrieves a piece of paper from the bowl. "Orchid Spectral!"

Orchid gasps and takes my hand. "No" I whisper desperately. Orchid starts walking slowly and the peacekeepers grab her. "NO!" I yell again, this time running towards her. "I volunteer as tribute!" I say proudly and I push the Peacekeepers away from Orchid.

"Kat, no." Orchid pleads.

"Orchid, go to Mom and Dad, I'll be fine." I say while the Peacekeepers drag me away. When Orchid nods, I turn around and walk up to the stage on my own. When I'm on the stage I smile my usual sweet smile. I see my Dad in the crown as he gives my a smile back, knowing my strategy. He understands how my mind works, how my plans form. He can see that behind the smile, I'm scheming and plotting my victory. For orchid.

**POV: Adrian Morgan (18) Submitted by ShillaS.**

I wake up and immediately smell the alcohol assaulting my nose. I grimace in disgust and get out of bed to change. It's reaping day, so I'm supposed to dress fancy, but all put on is a white t-shirt and some loose black pants. My tall and muscular frame barely fits through the door of my bedroom and into the bathroom. I run my fingers through my dirty blonde hair and exit the bathroom, taking one last look at my tattoo on the back of my arm that reads, "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."

As I walk through my quiet house, I smell where the alcohol is coming from. Of course, it's my dad. He's always drunk these days, ever since Mom died. I used to wonder if he would die of all this alcohol. It seems like he never runs out, but that's because my dad has all the money in the world since his dad was a victor in the Games.

I eat some breakfast quickly, and head out the door to the reaping, eager to get away from the hell-hole I call a home. On the way, people begin to look at me, and back away. I'm used to it. I guess I'm just a very intimidating guy. Soon, I see another guy with people backing away from him as well. I smile at the familiar face. "TAMAR!" I yell while waving at my friend.

Tamar makes his way over slowly and greets me. "Hey Adrian. What's up?"

"Nothing much, my dad's drunk again." I say with a disappointed face.

"Oh. Well if it makes you feel any better, my parents don't care enough to come to the reaping either." He tries to cheer me up. I smile, feeling a bit better.

Tamar and I are very alike, and we're the best of friends. We're both outsiders, on the edge of society. People are generally scared of us and don't want to be seen around us. I don't mind it much, we have each other. Tamar and I train together. I guess you could say we're careers, but we still despise the Hunger Games. Tamar is probably the person I trust most in the whole world. He's the brother I never had and he is always there for me. I don't really know what I'd do without him.

"Hey, we should hurry up, I think it's starting." Tamar says while motioning towards the crowd of people. We quickly check in and enter the eighteen year old section together.

"Welcome, and happy Hunger Games!" the escort yells as the ceremony begins.

Tamar and I silently watch as the video plays, the escort talks some more, and a name is drawn out of the bowl onstage. "Orchid Spectral!" The name is called. I don't recognize it at all, but then I see the girl.

It's obvious that she's blind, and I think I've seen her around before. She's one of the only people who doesn't cower in fear of me because she can't see me. Then, another girl frantically volunteers for her. They're obviously sisters. They have the same red hair, freckles, and petite body. When she gets up on stage, she announces her name, "Katri Spectral." Now I know they're sisters.

The escort moves to the boys bowl, and pulls out a name. I can feel my heart pick up the pace a little. I wonder why I'm scared of this. I'm never scared.

"Adrian Morgan." The escort announces. My breath catches in my throat.

After a few seconds, I swallow the tiny bit of fear tearing at my throat. Before I can walk to the stage, Tamar hands me something. I look at him for a second and then look down at what he gave me. It's a black cross on a chain. I give him my confident grin and put the cross around my neck. When I get up on stage, even the escort is a little afraid of me. I look towards the crowd and it's filled with shocked and scared faces.

"Please shake hands." The escort says.

I turn to the girl next to me and shake her hand. Now that I am closer to her I notice her eyes. They're piercing and deep with a green tint to them. She's smiling at me. She looks sweet and innocent, but when I look into her eyes there's something more. I could almost say her eyes are evil and malicious.

I shake the girl who is half my size out of my mind as we exit the stage with an exuberant escort guiding us.

**A/N: Sooooooooooo…do you guys like it? And what about my little alliteration at the end? Please tell me what you think of our dear Kat and Adrian! Personally, I enjoyed writing this reaping. These characters are both very complex and it's a challenge to write. **

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	8. District 5 Reaping

**POV: Ava Garrison (17) Submitted by ShillaS.**

I wake up to the chatter of the other girls around the large house. I look over to see Cassia getting out of bed as well. "Today's the reaping." She says in a solemn voice. Cassia is my only friend. We're both orphans and we live in this orphanage together. She's quite different than me; she's bubbly and talkative while I'm quiet and indifferent.

"Yeah." I respond. I realize that there is a book laying across my chest. I must have fallen asleep reading. I love to read, I love to learn. I don't want to be like all the other girls in this orphanage and have a horrible life. I want to be successful, so I try hard. I always try to learn, since I was eleven I've trained for the games. It's not full out career training, but I've learned a lot. I read all kinds of books with any information that can help me. I also steal stuff from people. I've learned to be sneaky and I'm quite a good pickpocket. I like to practice my knife skills just in case anything ever happens. I'm almost always armed with a knife. I don't fully trust anybody, so I need protection just in case they betray me.

"Here's your dress, and here's mine." Cassia says while she hands me a simple white dress. Everybody in the orphanage has to dress the same.

"Thanks." I put on the dress and tie my long black hair back into a pony tail. My pale skin and slim figure make me look lanky and malnourished in this dress. The only color I have other than my hair is my piercing blue eyes.

"Come on, we've got to go." Cassia says. I follow her out of the orphanage with all the other girls. We look very similar and I have no doubt everyone knows we're from the orphanage. I keep quite, and show no emotion as we get to the Reaping.

I pretend to be indifferent, but really, I hate the Capitol. They're all idiots who spend way too much time dressing themselves up, and not enough time doing real work. It's really funny how self-absorbed they are.

I check that my necklace is still around my neck as we walk through the crowd. I would be so upset if I lost it. My golden heart necklace is the only thing I have left of my family. I'm told that when I was little, I was dropped off in the front of the orphanage with only a note saying 'Ava Garrison' and my heart necklace. I've always wanted to know my family, but I've never heard or seen and signs of them. I doubt that it's possible for me to find my family. They probably didn't want me if they dropped my off in the orphanage in the first place.

"Welcome, everybody, to the 99th annual Hunger Games Reaping!" Someone yells over the crowd. Cassia and I are just getting into the seventeen year old section when the movie stars. My heart pace quickens as the escort stalks over to the girl's bowl and draws out a name. I hold my breath while she reads it. "Ava Garrison!"

_Oh god. It's me._ I think as the shock sets in. How could this happen to me? My life is already rotten enough, and now the stupid capitol is going to kill me?

"Ava Garrison?" The escort calls again. I finally swallow all the shock and put on a blank expression. It's my mask of no emotion as I silently walk up the stage and stand next to the escort.

"Ah, wonderful! Now for the gentlemen!" the escort leaves my side to draw another name.

**POV: Tobias "Toby" Plander (16) Submitted by TheMasterSlytherin.**

I wake up to the sound of Alec, my brother, running through the hallway. "Alec! Can you please be quiet? I'm trying to sleep!" I yell while jamming the pillow over my ears.

"Toby! It's the reaping today, you have to get dressed!" Alec yells back.

I quickly realize that he's right and jump out of bed. I look over to my alarm clock and frown. It must have broken again. I'm a bit of a tinkerer, I like to modify and invent things. Yesterday I was working on my alarm clock and I must have broken it. _I'll have to fix that._ I think to myself.

I put on my reaping outfit, which consists of a white shirt, black blazer, jeans, and some black dress shoes. I part my long sandy blonde hair that hangs down to my shoulders and head downstairs.

When I get into the kitchen, my older sister, Gwen is waiting with Alec while my parents discuss something I can't hear. Gwen looks especially scared today. Well, who wouldn't be scared on the day of the reaping? Plus, her twin sister, Jane died in the Hunger Games three years ago. Gwen and Jane were very close, and Gwen was especially devastated when her sister and best friend died. My whole family was hurt after Jane's death, but for Gwen, it was the worst. Sometimes Gwen gets nightmares and I comfort her. I can tell that she's still horrified of the reaping, as we all are.

After saying goodbye, we go to the reaping. I separate from Alec and Gwen and enter the sixteen year old section.

Soon, the Reaping starts and the escort is pulling a name out of the bowl. "Ava Garrison!" She says. After a couple of seconds, she calls out the name again. A girl emerges from the audience. She is tall and thin. I can tell from her dress that she's from the orphanage. She looks so emotionless. When she gets up on stage and turns to face the crown all I can see is a blank stare.

"Ah, wonderful! Now for the gentlemen!" The escort says while reaching her hand into the bowl. She grabs a paper and unfolds it. With a mischievous smirk to the audience she reads the name, "Tobias Plander!" She yells.

I realize that it's my name, but I can't move. _Why me?_ I wonder. After a second or two, I move my feet up the stage. It takes a lot of effort, but I flash my best smile to the audience. Somewhere in the crowd, I see Gwen. Her face tells me that she knows she should volunteer for me. Being the oldest child in my family, she thinks it's her duty. She already blames herself enough for not volunteering for Jane. I slowly shake my head, telling her that she can't volunteer for me, and she can't feel bad. I see the pain in her eyes as she nods reluctantly.

"Please shake hands." The escort asks.

I turn to the girl next to me and smile a little, reaching out my hand. Her face still looks indifferent, but her piercing eyes are tracing the scar on my cheek. She looks a bit haunting with her pale complexion and blank face.

"Here are your district five tributes for the 99th Hunger Games!" The escort yells. A few people clap, but all I can see is my family's crying faces and the sorrowful expressions of the other girls form the orphanage.

**A/N: Hmmmmm...How do you guys like Ava and Toby? Please let me know. I absolutely love that I'm getting so many reviews. This morning when I came online, I practically jumped for joy when I saw that we had 26 reviews! So thank you guys for reviewing, and please continue. **

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	9. District 6 Reaping

**A/N: Hey, so in this chapter Turk Ridley is the male tribute. Turk is a bloodbath tribute, so I won't be writing his reaping. Just in case you're wondering why this chapter's so short.**

**POV: Shaylee Reserite (16) Submitted by AuthorChick96.**

I wake up to the feint sound of a dog barking wildly. I groan when I realize that today's the reaping day. I doubt that I'll be reaped and get put it the games. The Reapings just annoy me. For most people, it's fear that drives their hatred of the Hunger Games. But for me, I'm just bothered by it.

I get up and look around my small room for my reaping out fit. Once I find it, I put on my white blouse, dark brown tight pants, and tall boots. I brush my red hair and have one final check in the mirror. I smile at my deep brown eyes and bright red hair. My body looks especially slender in these tight pants. I've always been teased for my small size. It annoys me when people tease me. Sometimes, I can be very aggressive and they learn not to mess with me, but most of the time, I'm shy and quiet around people I'm not friends with.

"Hey Mom, Dad." I say as I enter the kitchen where my parents are drinking coffee. My house is usually like this; quiet and empty except for the three of us. I'm an only child. I've always wanted another sibling, and I'm sure my parents do too. But after I was born, my parents were unable to conceive another child.

"Good morning, Shaylee." My dad says with a warm smile.

"So, are you nervous for the Reaping?" My Mom asks.

"No, I've never been reaped before, and I doubt I will now." I say confidently. Maybe I'm not as confident as I act, but my mom doesn't have to know that. I can already see the slight worry in my her eyes.

"Here's some breakfast for you, hon. Then you should head out soon." My mom hands me some toast. I nod and begin eating.

"Are you wearing your necklace, Shaylee?" My Dad asks.

"Yeah, it's right here." I respond, pulling out my necklace from under my shirt. It's a simple chain with a lyre charm hanging off of it. I like how simple it looks around my neck.

"Good, you should go now."

"Okay, bye, see you guys after the Reaping." I say while hugging my parents goodbye.

I walk down the street going along with the flow of the other people going to the reaping. Eventually, I hear a voice calling after me. "SHAYLEE!" a girl yells from down the street.

"DINA!" I respond while running towards my friend.

"Hey, are you scared? 'Cause I sure am!" Dina asks when I get to her.

"Nah, I'm never really scared for these things. And I really doubt either of us could be reaped." I quickly settle into the conversation, channeling my talkative side. When I'm with my friends, I'm a loud, and bubbly person, but normally I'm very shy and quiet.

"Yeah, I just feel bad for whatever poor girl gets it." Dina says.

We continue walking to the square, discussing our mornings, and what we expect to happen at the reaping. When we arrive, people are just settling into their respective sections. We check in and head to the sixteen year old section. Once we're in place, we meet up with some other friends and start chatting nervously.

"Happy Hunger Games!" The escort yells when she gets to the microphone. She expects a cheer, but nobody makes a sound. "Okay, I suppose we should start with this short video." She announces and the video begins.

Once the video ends, I can see people start to fidget and sweat. They're getting nervous, wondering who will be reaped. The escort finally gets to drawing a name. She picks a slip of paper and unfolds it with her manicured fingernails. "Shaylee Reserite!"

I gasp and look around, wondering if they made a mistake. It can't be me, I'm not supposed to get reaped. I never expected this. I look over to Dina, who is standing next to me with a horrified face.

"I'm sorry." I whisper to my friends, "This may, and probably will be the last time I ever see any of you."

I turn away from their dropped jaws and begin walking through the aisle. When I get on stage, I can feel my shyness setting in. I'm trying to appear confident, but I'm sure I don't.

"Alright, now for the boys!" The escort says while ushering the attention away from me. "Turk Ridley!"

A young boy emerges from the crowd after a few seconds. He solemnly walks up the stage and stops next to me. He's young and small, I'd guess that he's only twelve years old. I can see all the fear in his eyes when I shake his hand. I doubt he will make it very far in the games. I can only hope that I'll do better than him.


	10. District 7 Reaping

**POV: Blaze Phoenix (13) Submitted by Miss Unaprochable.**

The smell of bacon gently wakes my up as I open my eyes. I smack my hair away from my face. "Stupid hair." I mumble. I hate my hair, it's long enough to hang down to my waist and is straight down to the end where it curls a bit. Oh yeah, and it's orange, very orange.

I get out of bed and run downstairs with my stomach growling. "Hey mom, is the bacon ready?" I ask. My mom and sister, Maya are chatting in the kitchen. Mom doesn't seem to notice me as I walk in. "Mom?" I repeat.

"Oh, hi Blaze." My mom turns around, just noticing me. Sometimes, this really annoys me. It's like I'm invisible to my parents, they only care about my six year old sister and 15 year old brother, not the middle child. I guess it's kind of a good thing that they ignore me, I don't like being around people so much, and I can always get away with everything because they don't care.

"Food?" I ask.

"Not until you put on a nice outfit for the reaping." She responds, looking me up and down.

"No!" I say in a stubborn voice.

"Honey, you have to look nice. Go put on that nice white skirt you have, and that green blouse!" She says excitedly. Okay, so I'm not completely invisible to her. I know she loves and cares about me, but sometimes I feel like my siblings get all the attention.

"Fine!" I say while storming out of the room. When I get back to my room I put on the clothes my mom suggested and my necklace with a clover pendant. When I re-enter at the kitchen, my Dad and brother, Xavier are sitting at the table.

"Here's some food, kids." My mom sets three plates on the table.

"Mommy, I want cereal!" Maya squeals.

"But honey, I made you an egg." Mom says in a sweet voice.

"Cereal!" Maya commands.

"Okay, I'll get you some cereal." Mom gives in. I stifle a laugh at how weak my mom is. She just can't say no. Maya's only six, and she's already a spoiled brat.

"Blaze, there's a spider on your shoulder!" Xavier yells.

"WHAT! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" I scream and frantically swat at my shoulder.

Suddenly, Xavier bursts into laughter, almost falling off his chair. "I was kidding, calm down, you're such a baby." He teases.

"Shut up, spiders are the scariest creatures on earth, I'm not a baby for disliking them." I reply with a sneer.

"Blaze, you're afraid of everything. If you got reaped, you wouldn't make it five minutes in the games."

That does it, my competitive nature comes out in a second. "I would get farther than you could ever dream of getting! You're just an idiot, you wouldn't even make it one minute!"

"Blaze, Xavier, calm down. Neither of you are getting reaped." My Dad motions for me to sit down before I punch Xavier.

"I'm leaving." I say stubbornly and storm out the door. I swiftly walk down the street, ignoring the people who try to talk to me. I'm just in a bad mood, and I can be a bitch at times like this.

When I get to the reaping, I check in and enter the thirteen year old section. Finally, the escort comes on stage and begins the dreadfully boring ceremony. I get impatient waiting for the video to end, and when she is ready to draw a name out of the bowl, my mood is at an all time low.

"Okay, for the ladies we have…Blaze Phoenix!" She exclaims.

I'm frozen from shock. How could it be me? I don't deserve this. I can't die. Then I remember what Xavier told me earlier. '_If you got reaped, you wouldn't make it five minutes in the games.'_ This is just an opportunity for me to prove him wrong. I put on a straight face and hide my terror as I walk up the stage.

"Yeah Phoenix!" Someone calls from the audience, cheering me on. I smile a little bit, biting back the tears that are prying at my eyes. _Just wait until you're off stage._ I say to myself, desperately trying not to cry.

**POV: Perry Nightheart (14) Submitted by jakey121.**

I wake up with the sun barely gleaming through my window. Immediately, I remember what day it is. It's one of my parent's favorite days, and my least favorite. My parents love the Hunger Games, and the reaping is just plain exciting for them. I absolutely detest their beliefs. The Hunger Games are horrible, once when I was little, I ran away from home because I hated how they support the games so much. Eventually a peacekeeper brought me back here. So now I'm stuck keeping my mouth shut about the games at home.

I get out of bed and begin rummage through my dresser, looking for some clothes to wear. Eventually, I settle on a checkered shirt, baggy black trousers, and my white trainers. I sweep my dark brown hair over my eyes in the usual style and head downstairs.

My mom is waiting for me with an anxious face. "Good morning Perry." She says, trying to hide her fear. I'm glad she's at least nervous that I'll get reaped. Of course, my parents don't want me to go into the Games. They enjoy watching it, but they don't want to watch their only son die.

"Morning." I greet her while grabbing some food. My mom tries to make conversation with me while I eat, failing miserably. I'm not that close to my parents, I don't have deep conversations or anything with them. I 'm closest to my best friend, Oliver. Oliver's a great guy, and he actually appreciates my outgoing and cheeky attitude, unlike some people. Recently, Oliver gave me a small charm bracelet. I wear it all the time. He's my best friend, and he probably knows me better than my parents do.

"Okay, I'm going to head out. See you later." I promise, and hug my mom. I can tell she's worried that I won't come home, but I give her a confident smile anyway.

"Bye, Perry." My Dad says as he enters the room to see me off.

I walk out the door and head over to Oliver's house to meet up with him. Oliver only lives two blocks away, and soon I'm at his house. "Hey Perry." He says while coming out the front door.

"Hey Home boy." I say jokingly.

"Nice shirt. That'll sure get you some attention." He says, giggling at the checkered shirt I'm wearing.

"Thanks." I say. Oliver knows that I crave attention and it's just like me to wear this shirt to the reaping.

When we arrive at the town center we check in and enter the fourteen year old section.

"Welcome, to the 99th annual Hunger Games!" The escort yells, silencing the crowd. "We will begin with a short video about the origin of the Hunger Games!" The usual video plays, and about five minutes later, the escort takes the microphone again.

She grabs a piece of paper from the bowl, and announces, "Okay, for the ladies, we have…Blaze Phoenix!" I immediately recognize the last name, Phoenix. I see the girl and recognize her orange hair as well. I know her older brother, Xavier. He's a year older than me, but he's a well known name for always getting in trouble. I wonder if she could be as devious as him. She looks a bit scared as she stands up on the stage.

"Now for the boys." The escort says, ushering my attention over to the opposite bowl. "Perry Nightheart!" She reads off the slip of paper.

_What? did she just call my name? _I frantically think. I stand there for a few seconds before someone behind me pushes me forward. Finally, my brain connects to my feet, and I start walking up the stage. I can feel my hands shaking with fear as I try to calm down. I muster a brave face and stand to face the girl next to me.

I shake her hand. She's taller than me. I think she's a year younger than me, but I'm short for my age, and she's tall. She has a slender figure with straight orange hair and greenish grey eyes. I give her my best confident smile as we walk off the stage. I can tell she's about to cry. I also try to hold back tears as we prepare for the games.

**A/N: More than halfway done! Aren't you guys excited for the games to start? I can't wait! So here's district seven, and district eight will come tomorrow. But I have to let you guys know, after tomorrow I'm going away for a week. I'm actually going on vacation in Italy! Isn't that exciting? Well, you guys probably aren't excited because you don't get anymore chapters until next Monday :( Sorry, but I can't really post anything because I probably won't have internet, and I'm going to be on vacation, so I can't spend all my time writing. So next chapter tomorrow, then we'll finish the Reapings in about a week and a half!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	11. District 8 Reaping

**POV: Raven "Ray" Lux (14) Submitted by DarknessOnMyEyes.**

I wake up to my mother screaming at me from the doorway. "RAVEN GET OUT OF BED NOW!" She says menacingly.

"Sorry mom." I mutter, deciding that it's best to give up and let my Mom win. Mom exits my room while muttering something about how worthless I am. I live with my parents, and saying that they dislike me is an understatement. They think I'm just a burden, consuming what little money they have. I don't remember the last time either of my parents said that they love me. I guess that's why I don't love them. They taught me that I shouldn't trust anybody and that confrontation will just get you a slap to the face. I don't love them, and I don't trust them. There is only one person in the world that I love and trust fully, My boyfriend, Renan.

I get out of bed and put on a simple white dress. My hair looks as raven black as ever. My hair is obviously, my namesake. My large golden brown eyes show no signs of the hate for my parents. This is just what I do. I never show my emotions, my eyes are clouded and reveal nothing. I keep to myself and trust nobody. My walls are tall and strong, the only person capable of getting through is Renan.

"Ray, you've got to go, NOW!" My mom's ear piercing scream echoes through the house. I run downstairs as fast as my legs can carry me.

"Sorry mom." I apologize for the second time this morning. My Mom and Dad are both sitting in the kitchen, not saying a word, just looking at me with disgust. "bye." I say quietly and rush out the door. They say nothing in response as I leave. I can just imagine them, praying that I get reaped today.

I arrive at the reaping with time to spare. I search for Renan, but find him nowhere. I sigh as I walk into the fourteen year old section.

"Welcome, everyone to the 99th Hunger Games Reaping!" The escort yells, her six inch heels clacking on the stage. The video plays as I anxiously search the crowd for Renan. Eventually I see him in the fifteen year old section watching the video. I feel safer now, knowing that he's just a few rows away from me.

Soon, my stomach starts to hurt as the escort dips her hand into the girl's bowl. She pulls out a name gracefully and reads the paper. "Raven Lux." She says expectantly.

My eyes widen in surprise. It's me...I'm going to the Hunger Games. I'm going to die. I half expect to hear my parents cheering from the back of the crowd. I can't die, I simply can't die. I don't deserve this, my whole life has been hell and now they're going to kill me? I hate the capitol, I hate them so much, They're ruining my life and making my parent's day.

I realize that everyone is looking at me now. I do the one thing that I'm best at. I let them win. I cloud my eyes and show no emotion while I exit the crowd. I look weak and submissive. I _am _weak and submissive. I shouldn't do this, I shouldn't let the capitol take advantage of me. I should fight back. But I don't know how.

I walk up to the stage, my eyes reveal nothing, which is exactly what I want. But I can't help myself, I take one last look. While I approach the stage, I peek over my shoulder. Renan is close to tears, I can see his heartbroken eyes. For a moment, I let my guard down and reveal just how heartbroken I am with my eyes. A couple seconds later, I remove the longing from my expression and climb the stage, facing the crowd.

"Okay, now for the gentlemen!" The escort announces. She pulls a name out of the bowl. "Gaven Incendi!" She announces. Almost immediately, a boy comes out of the crowd and strides up the stage. I almost long to have his confidence, but I know he's going into this blindly. I don't expect him to make it far. I can be smart about this, I won't run into the bloodbath like most, I'll hide away. I won't fight.

I shake his hand meekly and we exit the stage. While we walk out of the light I can hear the escort. "Let the Games Begin!" She screams into the microphone.

**A/N: So Gaven Incendi is another bloodbath tribute. That's why I didn't write his reaping. Do you guys like Raven? Please tell me what you think. This is the last chapter before I leave for Italy tonight. If you guys read the author's note from last chapter, you'll know that I won't be updating until the Monday the 2nd of July. Sorry, guys! So see you in about a week, I'll miss my dear readers! And now, I have to go pack because I've been procrastinating way too long!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	12. District 9 Reaping

**A/n: I'm back from Italy! I had a wonderful vacation, but it's always nice to be back home. It has come to my attention that today is the Birthday of one of my wonderful readers. So, this chapter is dedicated to Jakey121! Happy Birthday! **

**POV: Maroon Fauling (12) Submitted by SoHighAboveMe.**

I wake up to the slight feeling of something nudging my shoulder. I look over and see Coji, my dog. Coji is repeatedly pushing his nose into my shoulder, trying to wake me up.

"Good morning, Coji!" I give him a quick scratch behind the ears and get out of bed. He nuzzles his large snout into my side.

Then it hits me. Today's the reaping. My _first _reaping. Me knees immediately go weak and I have to sit down on my bed again. The fear overcomes me. _What if I get reaped? I'd definitely die. What if it's my name that she pulls out of the pile? What if it's me?_ I think. It seems like Coji can sense the tears stining my eyes because he begins to lick my hand. It does little to comfort me.

Coji is my best friend. I know, he's a dog, but I don't have many friends. I'm shy and meek. I don't want to be alone all the time, but I just have trouble making friends. Coji has been in my family since I was born. He's thirteen years old so I've been told that he's going to die soon. For a few minutes, I ponder what would happen if I got reaped and died. It would be horrible for my parents, I'm their only kid other than Coji.

"Maroon, are you awake?" My mom calls me from down stairs.

I don't have the strength to respond, I just hastily put on my reaping outfit. I'm wearing a white dress with little black flowers lining the bottom. It's a small dress to fit my petite form. I glance at the mirror and see my very short blonde hair. It only goes down to my ears, but I like it. I couldn't imagine having long hair, it would just get in the way.

"Maroon?" My dad calls this time. I quickly walk downstairs to greet my parents.

I feel the tears threatening to flow from my eyes when I see the red rimmed eyes of my mom. My dad pulls me into a hug. "It's all going to be okay, don't worry." He whispers, trying to draw my attention away from my mom.

"I'm scared." I reply in a barely audible tone.

"Don't be, darling." My dad says comfortingly.

I manage to hold the tears back as I sit down at the table and eat my small breakfast. My family has never had an abundance of food. My dad barely makes enough money to support us, so we're in no way wealthy.

"I have something for you." My mom says from across the table. I look up at her and notice that she seems to have pulled herself together a bit. She picks up my small hand and slides a ring onto my finger. "My mother gave it to me on the day of my first reaping. It's a lucky ring. I wore it every year for my reapings, and I never got chosen." She says sincerely.

I look down at the ring. It's a bit large on my slender fingers, but it fits. It's just a small band with an emerald stone in the middle. It's looks old enough to be from her mother. I smile at my mom as she pulls me into another hug.

We continue eating in silence. I feel so fragile. Like glass or porcelain. I feel like at any moment, I'll fall to the ground and shatter into a million pieces. I've never had much confidence but this is a new low. When I finish my food, mom bids me off to walk to the town center.

I walk slowly, my feet refuse to move faster. When I arrive, I enter the section full of twelve year old girls and wait.

I can easily hear my heart beat quicken as the escort approaches the microphone. I don't tune her out. Instead, I hang onto every single word she says. Praying that it will reveal that I'm not getting reaped.

"Lets begin with the ladies." She says softly. I hold my breath as she reaches a pale hand into the bowl and pulls a name out. _Please, please, please not me. Not me. Not me._ I think as she unfolds the paper.

She reads my name. My name. My horrible, rotten name. What am I supposed to do? I can't escape. I'm going to die. I'm only twelve, how could they do this to me? My feet are stubborn and refuse to move. I'm frozen in the crown of people looking for me.

"Maroon?" The escort asks. I hate how she says my name, just like my parents do. Almost as if she cares about me. No. She doesn't care about me. I'm just another pawn in this stupid game. She doesn't care about me at all. She knows I'm going to die. How could I win?

I'm jerked from my thoughts by a peacekeeper pulling my arm. I stumble out of the crowd and begin walking alongside him. Someone must have pointed at me, and given away my position.

I climb the stage and face the crowd with a mortified expression. I tune out the escort now as she continues talking. Eventually, she pulls a name out of the boys bowl and reads it. "Roland Nicks."

I watch him approach the stage. He's twelve too. I know him. We're not friends or anything, I just know him. Roland walks up to the stage and shakes my hand. He seems just as mortified as me. We walk off the stage in silence, ushered by the escort.

**A/N: Roland is another Bloodbath tribute, in case you didn't know. And Maroon is our first twelve year old. Isn't that cool? Please drop me a review, darlings. I was so happy to see that I got tons of reviews this past week while I was away. Please keep on reading and I'll keep on writing**.

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	13. District 10 Reaping

**POV: Isabelle "Lizzy" (15) Submitted by TheHungerGamesFan01.**

I wake up slowly, hearing the gentle calls of birds outside my window. The memories of last night rush into my head as I turn on my brain. I remember talking to my brother, Jordan for hours. We have those conversations a lot. I'm very close to Jordan. We talk about everything, but last night we talked about the reaping specifically. We discussed my chances of getting reaped (Jordan can't get reaped this year because he's nineteen), and we talked about my other brother, Michael's chances of getting reaped (Michael's seventeen), and we talked about my third brother, he would have been fourteen this year. In my house, we rarely talk about my brother that died at the Hunger Games. I try not to think about his name, or what he looked like. When I remember him too much it hurts.

Eventually, I get out of bed and pick out some clothes to wear to the reaping. I put on a white skirt and a violet strapped shirt. I put on some tan sandals and head to the bathroom. It's early in the morning so I still have time until I need to leave. I bathe and brush out my coal colored hair. My hair reaches just below my shoulders, framing my skinny figure.

I walk downstairs and find that nobody's awake yet. I like being alone, It just comforts me. My family creates a kind of depressed atmosphere. When I'm with them, I always have to try and cheer up their sorrowful faces. I'm closest to Jordan because he has the same sense of humor as me, and we understand each other.

I prepare breakfast for the family and soon enough, they're all awake and eating with me. "Michael, don't look so worried." Jordan says to the younger looking version of him.

Michael doesn't respond, he just looks down at his food sorrowfully.

"So, after the reaping, the two of you can walk home together and then I'll have some lunch prepared." My mom says. She's trying to pretend like everything will be okay, like she knows we wont get reaped.

I stay quiet for the rest of the meal, channeling my shy side. When we're ready to leave, I put on a bright smile and hug everyone goodbye. When I hug Jordan he points at the locket around my neck and smiles. We both know what's inside the locket: it's one of my most prized possesions. It holds a simple picture of my family, and It always helps me to find comfort.

Michael and I walk out the door together, and quietly head towards the town center. When we arrive, people are gathered around the stage. We separate and enter out respective sections, I stand alone around the other girls my age. I'm silent, and shy. This is how I normally act, I keep to myself. I've never really had any friends, they all just think I'm a loner. If people would take the chance to get to know me, then maybe they'd realize that I'm nice and funny. But they don't.

"Happy Hunger Games!" The escort greets us with a pearly white smile. "It's so wonderful to begin this ceremony again this year. " She talks for a while, barely stopping to breathe.

I stand there, just watching her. For a few moments, I forget that this is the reaping. I forget I might get chosen and die, just like my brother. I forget all the sorrow I've felt in my life. When I let all of this sadness slip from my mind, happy thoughts fill the place. I remember my wonderful family, and all the long conversations I've had with Jordan. I smile even more when I begin to imagine what would happen if all the escorts had to go into the Hunger Games. A small giggle escapes my lips and the girl next to me glares.

"Ladies first!" The escort brings me away from my happy thoughts. She walks over to the bowl and the fear sets in.

I don't hear the name she calls, I tune it out and watch the crowd for a reaction. I hear someone scream form behind me. It sounds like the haunting sob of my Mom. _Why would my Mom be screaming?_ Then it hits me. She just read my name, and now everyone is turning to look at me. I just got Reaped. Before I know it, the Peacekeepers are dragging me onto the stage and I see my life flash before my eyes.

The escort is giving me a grin that is borderline sadistic. It's at this moment that I realize this is the end for me. I'm such a miniscule part of this world, and now I'm going to die.

**POV: Maxus Jagger (16) Submitted by SoHighAboveMe.**

I wake up to a familiar buzzing harassing my ear. I automatically tap my alarm clock and sit up, rubbing my eyes. Today's the reaping. I moan and get up. I'm not necessarily scared, it's just an annoyance. The Capitol's so stupid and they don't realize how much stupider they look by hosting these goddamn Hunger Games.

I stretch my long arms and put on some random clothes, then head downstairs. "Maxy!" My little sister, Sage screams as she sees me enter the kitchen. I notice my parents, feeding my three little sisters at the table. They all wear worried frowns except Sage. Sage is only five and she doesn't understand the Hunger Games. My other sisters, Lyra and Aurora are twins at the age of ten, so they understand what's going on.

"Hey girls, Mom, Dad." I greet my family.

"Maxus, are you ready to go? It's starting soon." My mom says anxiously.

"Oh Mother, chill. I'll get there when I get there and you don't have to worry about me." I say in my usual laid back attitude.

My mom rolls he eyes and continues eating. "Maxus, I've been meaning to ask you, did you start that fire in the woods yesterday?" My dad questions with an accusatory glare.

I laugh a bit and flash him a grin. "Do you think anybody else could have made a fire so big?"

"Maxus, you know you can't just go around starting fires, it's dangerous. Plus, about a dozen Peackeepers had to come over and put it out."

"Well that's good, they're a bunch of assholes who deserve it." I speak my mind.

"Maxus! I told you not to use that language around the girls!" My mom says angrily.

"Sorry," I say nonchalantly. "But anyways, I had it under control and it was near the creek, so there was water they could've used to put it out."

"You really need to get over all this pyromaniac stuff." My Dad mumbles under his breath.

My parents are convinced I'm a pyromaniac, and I don't really disagree. Fire fascinates me, and I don't really give a shit if that makes me look crazy.

I shove a pack of matches into my pocket and head out the door of our house, waving goodbye to my family. I get to the reaping and enter the section filled with sixteen year olds quietly. I put on my usual careless face and watch as the ceremony begins. It's not that I don't care about the Hunger Games. Believe me, I'm scared. I just chose not to show it, I act laid back and careless, and try to not seem weak. I'm sure that in two years, when Lyra and Aurora have their names put in that bowl, I'll care a lot more. But for now, I push away my fear.

The escort goes through the tiresome ceremony, and eventually calls out a girl's name. It's Isabelle something, and she definitely looks scared. She's tall and very skinny, with very dark black hair in comparison to my light brown hair. Isabelle gets up on stage and the escort beams at her then moves onto the boys.

"Now, here we are." The escort says while unfolding a paper. "Maxus Jagger!" She announces with confidence.

At this moment, my life flashes before my eyes, like the fire when it sparks up, consuming everything around it. I see my family, I see my love for them, I see all the things I regret and all the things I wish I could change. I almost don't believe that they would pick me. I mean, sure I've considered getting reaped before, but never taken it seriously.

The peacekeepers are approaching me and I'm forced to walk up to the stage. Now I regain my self control and do the one thing I do best: I put on a careless face. I shake Isabelle's hand and look at the crowd nonchalantly. The escort guides us off stage and I take one more look back at the crowd, wondering if I'll ever see them again.

**A/N: Only two more! Isn't that exciting? I for one, am very excited. Have any of you guys heard the song "The A Team" By Ed Sheeran? I discovered it today and I'm in love with it. Seriously, if you haven't heard it, you MUST listen to it. I'm considering writing a songfic about it. It would probably be for Harry Potter. ANYWAYS, please keep reviewing, and I'll update tomorrow!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	14. District 11 Reaping

**POV: Fig Crest (12) Submitted by d11olive-13.**

"Fig, Poplyn, Odette, Hana get up!" My sisters voice calls me.

"Coming!" I reply. I look over to my the three younger sisters laying in beds around the room we share. None of them seemed to have heard Reena call them.

"Poplyn, Odette, Hana." I call them again, while tapping each on the shoulder until they get up.

"Fig, is today the reaping?" Hana, my five year old sister asks.

"Yeah, but none of you guys have to worry about it, your all under twelve years old." I respond.

"But you're twelve." Odette points out.

"Yeah." I say distantly, and head to the small bathroom in the hall.

I put on a brown skirt and crème colored shirt then tie my curly dark hair up in a high ponytail. I look into the mirror, my skin looks dark compared to my large hazel eyes. The brown specks in my eyes match my hair color. I try to mask the fear that is slowly ripping away my control and smile.

I walk downstairs and find my seventeen year old sister, Reena, already in the kitchen with food. She always makes food for us. Reena can't get a job because her leg is badly damaged from a farming equipment accident. She's kind of our motherly figure, even though we have a mom. My mom can't spend time at home a lot, she's always working since my dad died. We live in a very poor part of district 11 and we're struggling to keep afloat. I also have a sixteen year old brother named Forrest, he works with my mom and I. I've been working since I was six at an orchard. I guess I'm not very smart because I had to drop out of school at such a young age. I won't let my younger sisters start working until they're ten because they need the education I didn't get.

"Where's mom?" I ask Reena

"Sleeping, she came home from work late last night." Reena says solemnly.

"Oh." I mutter.

"Are you scared?" She's concerned.

I want to hide my fear and act brave, but I know she'd see right through me. "Yeah."

"Don't let it intimidate you , Fig. It's all just a game, remember that." Forrest says from the doorway. I didn't notice him there.

I nod and the conversation stops when my three little sisters enter. We don't talk about this stuff in front of them. Odette walks up to me and hands me something. "I made this for you." The eight year old says. I look down at it. It's a small bracelet made up of rope and pink, yellow, and green thread. I immediately realize that those represent the favorite colors of each sister.

I smile and hug her. "Thank you, I love it." I say, then tie it around my wrist.

We begin eating the small breakfast while making small talk, trying to avoid the subject of the Reaping.

"Goodmorning everybody." My mom says while entering the kitchen.

"Hey mom, I made some food and we've got to go soon." Reena said, motioning to her, Forrest, and I.

"Oh, yeah. Okay." My mom says, looking at me and seeming to remember that this is my first year of eligibility.

Soon, Reena, Forrest, and I are out the door, walking to the town center. We walk slowly because Reena has a limp, but eventually, we arrive. When I see all the people, and the giant stage, It all becomes so much scarier than I remember. I try to keep a straight face, and I think I succeed for the most part.

"Alright, Fig, you've got to go into that section with the other twelve year olds. Forrest and I will be in our own sections." Reena says to me once we've checked in.

I nod, unable to say anything. The fear is almost overwhelming now. Reena and Forrest both hug me goodbye and leave me floating in a sea of nervous twelve year olds.

"Happy Hunger Games!" The escort's voice booms through the microphone. She shows the video and talks for some time about how wonderful the hunger games are. Then its time for her to pull a name out. She reaches a small hand into the bowl and grasps a name. "Fig Crest!"

I gasp. _It's me._ I look around frantically for an escape from the crowd. I can't die, I just can't leave my family behind. I need to run away, to escape so I can think this through. But there's no way out. After a couple seconds, the peacekeepers and pulling me towards the stage, towards my death. I let a few tears cascade down my cheek. Then I realize that crying and trying to run away won't get me anywhere. I have to face this. Head on.

I put on a straight face and stare straight ahead. When I get up on stage I spot my younger sisters with my mom. I smile at them, not wanting them to worry about me. Then I see Reena, she's crying. I can tell she wants to volunteer for me, but she knows she can't with that leg. I have a much better chance than her, even if I'm a twelve year old. I continue my reassuring smile at my sisters and the escort continues the ceremony.

"Now, the gentlemen!" She says, pulling a paper out of the bowl. "Ello Holtz!" She calls to the crowd. Soon, a pale faced boy appears from the fifteen year old section. He comes up on stage and I shake his sweaty hand, putting on a straight face.

"Here are your District 11 tributes for the 99th Hunger Games!" The escort shouts.

**A/N: Awwww poor kids. Do you guys like Fig? And of course, Ello is a BB tribute, so I didn't write his reaping. And oh my gosh! Only one more reaping! This is really exciting guys! I've been meaning to ask my readers their opinion on something: Do you guys think the rest of the story should be in POV or third person? I kind of want it to be in third person, but some parts of that could be hard to write. What do you guys think?**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	15. District 12 Reaping

**POV: Florence "Fizz" Moon (14) Submitted by rOxx11.**

I wake up slowly, leaving the realm of my dreams in peace. It's a normal start to the morning, I get up and head towards the bathroom to wash up. I can hear the feint sound of my Mom and sister, Sara downstairs. Then I remember what day it is. The Reaping. My nerves start acting up, but I calm down after a few seconds. _Whatever happens, happens._ I tell myself, it's something my Mom often says to me.

I go back to my room and put on my favorite dress; it's a nice, deep blue color. Then I brush my hair and pin it up so it doesn't get in my way. My hair is wavy, with an auburn color. My freckles match my hair, and my eyes are a startling green color. Finally, I put on my necklace. It's a simple chain with a silver moon hanging off. I take one last look in the mirror, then head out of my room.

I walk to the kitchen when I'm ready and find that my whole family is standing around, waiting. My parents look worried, but Sara, my twenty-five year old sister looks fine. Sara and I are similar, but pretty different from our parents, we're brave and positive. We don't let stuff hold us down and make us sad. My parents have always been sad since my brother died. He took his life because the girl he was in love with died in the Hunger Games. I didn't ever grieve over him because he died before I was born. But it still taught me that I have to make the most of life.

"Good morning Fizz." Sara greets me.

"Morning." I reply.

"Oh Fizz, you look tired. " My mom says, noticing the slight bags under my eyes. "You were up late last night playing that flute weren't you?"

"Yeah, kinda." I reply. I have a flute that I made out of reeds. I love music, so often when I need some time to think, I play my flute. It just makes me feel better.

Mom gives me a slight scolding look, but then continues to make food. Both my parents are pretty worried today, they don't want to lose another child, especially if it's caused by the Hunger Games. We don't appreciate the capitol in our house.

The four of us eat, making peaceful small talk, not mentioning the reaping. I try to be positive and upbeat, not showing that I might just be a little worried inside. When it's time to go, I hug my family goodbye and walk out the door.

I arrive at the town center, a short while later and join the crowd of people, greeting friends confidently as I see them.

When I'm all settled in the fourteen year old section, the escort begins the reaping. The video is played and everyone watches in utter silence. I can almost smell the fear floating through the air. Soon enough, the escort is ready to pull a name out of the girls bowl. She picks a paper, and unfolds it slowly. "Florence Moon!" She yells into the microphone.

Some people sigh in relief, but I do quite the opposite. I hold my breath, hoping that she will realize she made a mistake and read the wrong name. But she doesn't. _It's me._ I'm caught in a daze as I walk up to the stage. I wonder if I can survive this, if I'll ever see my family again, if I'll even make it five minutes in the Hunger Games. _Will I ever come home?_

"Wonderful!" The escort exclaims proudly. I'm not sure if I should try to smile, or just start crying and screaming. I just stand there, hoping and praying.

**POV: Liam Dawnfell (16) Submitted by minimojo99.**

"Anna, wake up." I call to my sister, Anna-May.

She slowly opens her eyes and looks at me with a frown. "It's the reaping today, isn't it?"

I nod, not wanting to say anything. Anna-May's only eleven, so she doesn't have a chance of being reaped, but we both know that today I'm volunteering. I have to volunteer today. We're slowly dying here on our own, alone with no parents, no money, and no food. I'm volunteering so that if I win, I can make a better life for the two of us. She's worried that I'm going to die, and to be honest, I'm worried too. If I win, we can live happily ever after in the victors village. And if I lose, Anna goes to an orphanage for the rest of her childhood. Either way, it's better than living like this, in this old, burnt up house that our parents died in. My parents died in a big fire when I was fourteen, and now we live in the old house.

"No breakfast today, sorry." I say to her while I put on some clothes. I'm wearing some ripped jeans, and white shirt, and hunting boots. These are basically the only clothes I have.

"That's okay, I understand." She replies.

I smile at her and we leave the house for the Reaping. On the way, I try to lighten the mood. "I wonder what crazy outfit the escort's gonna be wearing this year."

She laughs a little, then returns to her scared state.

When we arrive, there's already a huge crowd that's formed in the small center of town. People are waiting in line, and standing in their respective sections.

I look down at Anna-May, she's crying. "Oh Anna, don't worry about this, I'll be back before you know it!" I try to cheer her up.

"Please come back. Promise you'll be back." She pleads.

I hug her. "I promise." That's the only thing I can think to say now. I wonder if I'll ever be able to keep that promise. I can only hope.

"Alright! Let's begin!" The cheerful escort says. We watch the video and listen to her cheesy speech then finally, she begins. "Ladies first!" She walks over to the large bowl, filled with names. "Florence Moon!" She calls to the girl.

After a couple seconds, and expressionless girl comes out of the fourteen year old section and climbs the stage. She seems in a daze as she stands on the stage, waiting for the ceremony to end.

"Now the boys!" The escort calls. I feel my blood rushing, my pulse quickening. "I volunteer as tribute!" I call from my place in the audience, interrupting her. I decide that it's best to look intimidating, so I put on a sly smile and walk towards the stage.

"Well, we have a volunteer!" The escort states the obvious to the shocked crowd. I get up on stage quickly. "What's your name, boy?" She asks me, holding the microphone up to my face.

"Liam Dawnfell." I say as loud as I can manage.

"Isn't this wonderful!" The escort yells. "Now please shake hands." It's more of an order than a plead.

I shake the girl's hand. She looks at me with a confused expression searching my eyes for the reason why I volunteered. I smile a little at her, and she smiles back. It's surprising how either of us can smile at a time like this. I brake off the hand shake and we exit the stage on either side of a beaming escort.

**A/N: I have so much to say in this author's note! First off, We're all done with the Reapings! Next we'll be moving on the the chariot rides in the capitol. This is so exciting!**

**Second order of business, I would like to ask you guys a favor. You might know Jakey121 as one of the readers/reviewers of this story. Well, he is writing his own SYOT, and I would like to ask you guys to take a little of your time to read/review it. It's a wonderful story done by a wonderful writer, so please, check it out!**

**Third, you guys probably remember in the authors note of last chapter, I asked if you guys thought the rest of the story should be in POV or third person. Thank you guys for answering this, it's helped me to decide. Because the majority of you guys said POV, I've decided that that's how I'll write it. I might switch to third person from time to time if I need to, but for the most part, it'll be in POV.**

**See you in the capitol!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	16. Chariot Rides

**The Chariot Rides**

**POV: Markus Patilat (District 1) **

I casually flash the other tributes a menacing smile as I walk alongside Alana with our stylist following close behind. We enter the large room filled with people getting ready, and climbing into chariots. I look over at one small boy and give him a grin while he cowers in fear. "This is gonna be fun." I mutter to Alana.

"Lets do this shit." she says now, with an equally sadistic smirk.

We both continue eyeing the competition as we climb into the chariot and our stylists instruct us on how to act. I don't bother to listen, it's not like I need their help for a simple chariot ride. Eventually, we're left alone to wait for the ceremony to begin.

"I'm thinking District 2." Alana says to me, motioning to the career girl from district two. She's talking about the alliance, we discussed this on the train ride. I think I've established that I'm going to be the alpha-male around here. We're already starting to decide who we want to recruit for our alliance. Yes, Alana and I have already decided on an alliance. We're probably the strongest tributes in the games, so we have to team up.

"She looks small, doesn't seem tough." I say, evaluating her while she quietly talks with the boy from her district. He's looks young, but he's tall and strong.

"Hey, I don't look that tough either, but you've seen me training." She says with a self-satisfied smirk.

I nod, "Okay, let's just see how they do in training." She nods as well, and at that moment, the chariot jerks forward, and we enter the huge stadium, first in line.

**POV: Shaylee Reserite (District 6)**

I walk in between Turk and our Stylist as we locate our chariot. "So, just go out there, and look stunning!" Iiana, our stylist says. She's given us some assistance so far, but telling me to "look stunning" doesn't help much.

We finally find the District six chariot and I hop in. When Turk doesn't get in next to me, I look for him. He's standing near the side of our chariot, about to burst into tears. I follow his eyes to see some guy giving him an evil smile. Probably a career. "C'mon, Turk." I say, while motioning to the spot next to me.

Turk get's in and stands there in silence, still having a slightly petrified look on his face. I don't know what's wrong with this kid, but he won't last a single day in the games if he keeps acting like this. I can only hope that I'll last longer than that.

I let my eye wander to the chariot in front of us. "_District 5_" is written on the back. I watch the girl, trying to remember her from the Reapings I watched on the train ride. Then I realize, she's the orphan girl that got reaped. I feel kind of bad for her. She's wearing a tight black jump suit, it's pretty plain and simple. Then, I look over to the boy from her district. They look about the same age, sixteen, I'd guess. He's wearing the same black jumpsuit as her, and when he turns his head for a moment, I see the scar that rips through his cheek.

After only a few moments of waiting, the district 1 chariot pulls forward, and soon, we start moving. I watch as the archway comes closer, as we enter the cavernous room, all I can see is the sea of colorful hair, and glitter.

**POV: Maroon Fauling (District 9)**

"Remember what Slate said, don't talk to anybody." I whisper to Roland. Slate is our mentor, and he told us that we must not talk to anybody, especially if they're a career. I personally think Slate has some trust issues.

Roland nods and lowers his eyes to stare at the ground in front of him. On the train ride, Roland and I talked a fair amount. He's twelve, just like me. We're both a bit shy, but Roland is much more scared than I am. It makes me wonder if he even has a chance in these games. _Do I even have a chance? _I shake the doubts away from my mind as we get in our chariot and the horses begin to pull us behind district eight.

I smile at the crowd as we enter the stadium. The cheering is almost deafening. Roland smiles a little as well, but he still has a tearful look on his face. I eventually begin waving, remembering that my family is watching back home. Soon enough, we get to the end of the pathway and our chariot stops in a circle with all the other chariots. The crowd quiets down a little as the president begins his speech. "Welcome, and happy Hunger Games!"

**POV: Katri "Kat" Spectral (District 4)**

We walk up to the chariot and Adrian jumps in. Then, he kindly helps me up. Okay, I'll admit, at first, I was scared of Adrian, and I didn't like him much. On the train ride, we really got the chance to talk. He told me that he admires my sister, Orchid, because she's blind. He also told me about how everyone is afraid of him because he's so tough looking, everyone except Orchid. After our conversation on the train, I guess you could say we're friends, but I doubt we'll be in an alliance for very long. Immediately when I get to training, I'm joining the careers. He says that he wants to get with the careers, but he's going to run away when he gets a chance. I understand why he wants to do that.

"This costume is so freaking stupid." Adrian says, while tugging at the fish costume we were both forced to wear. I don't mind it that much, the scales have glitter on them which I kind of like. Adrian absolutely hates his, however.

Soon, District 1 enters the arena, and we're not far behind. When we enter, the crowd is cheering and screaming like there's no tomorrow. I even think I hear someone scream my name. We finally come to a halt in a large circle and wait for the cheering to die down.

"Look at District three." I say quietly.

Adrian looks over to the chariot next to us. The girl looks way too confident for her own good. I think her name is Contra. She acts like a career, but if I have anything to say about it, she won't be my ally. The boy is acting pretty relaxed, every few seconds he smiles at Contra or says something quietly. Suddenly, he turns his head to look at me and catches me staring. He smirks and gives me a wink. I can hear Adrian snort out a laugh from beside me. I roll my eyes and focus on the president who is now starting his speech.

**POV: Liam Dawnfell (District 12)**

Florence is beaming at me as we sit in the chariot, waiting. I've spend a lot of time with her, but I still don't understand how she can be so happy and excited about this. "Florence, why do think this is fun?" I ask her.

She gives me an irritated look. "For the last time, call me Fizz." I can tell she's trying to be my friend, but I just don't want establish a friendship with her. Nicknames lead to feelings, and I can't get attached to someone who will die. Especially if I want to get home to my sister.

"Come on Liam, this is fun! We're like celebrities now, can't you hear the crowd going wild out there?" She listenes for a minute to the feint screaming of the audience waiting for us.

I nod and let my eyes wander around the room. In front of us is the district eleven chariot, the boy looks around my age, and the girl looks young, probably twelve. The girl wears a dress that puffs out at the sides, and flowers in her braided hair. When she turns around for a moment, I see the flowers are also painted on the side of her face and down her arm. She looks friendly, but she doesn't talk to the boy next to her. She doesn't seem to trust him.

Next, I look in front of district eleven, to district ten's chariot. The girl and boy don't seem well acquainted either. The boy is laid back and careless, he doesn't even seem to notice when the first chariot starts moving, and enters the stadium. The girl is tall and skinny, with dark black hair. She seems kind of weak, even though she has a brave expression. Soon their chariot jerks forward and they begin waving to the crowd.

After a few seconds, we're moving forward into the bright lit room filled with screaming fans.

**POV: Perry Nightheart (District 7)**

"Spark, look at district four." I point to the chariot near the front of the room. "They're fish!" I start to giggle.

Blaze seems to frown a little at my nickname for her, but then looks over to the fish-people and laughs. I think Blaze and I are friends now, she kind of opened up to my on the train about how she always feels invisible with her family, and she only wants to prove her brother wrong. Apparently, her brother told her she wouldn't make it very far in the games, and she wants to prove him wrong. She's competitive like that. I think the reason that she's grumpy today is because she doesn't like being the center of attention, which is quite the opposite of me.

After only a few minutes of waiting in our chariot, district one pulls out of the waiting room, followed by two, three, four, five, six, and finally us. When we enter the room, the screams become much louder, I start waving, and smiling, loving the feeling of attention on me. Soon, we're in a circle around a large stage ready for the ceremony to really begin.

I look around at all the other chariots and see district eight, next to us. It's a girl, about my age, with a confident boy, probably a year older. She has raven black hair, which causes me to remember that her name is Raven. Her eyes look blank and clouded. She doesn't seem scared or excited, it's just nothing.

"Welcome, and happy Hunger Games!" The president's voice draws my eyes away from Raven.

**A/N: So here we are in the capitol! I have to say, this chapter was really fun to write. I love exploring the characters more, and seeing how they act around all the other tributes. I tried to mention every tribute in this chapter, sorry if yours didn't get a POV, but we'll have more later. So how do you guys like the tributes? Who are your favorites? Please drop me a review, darlings!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	17. Author's Note 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone! I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't a real chapter, only a note to my readers. There will be no chapter today, I've realized that I need some more time to work on the next chapter, which is the training. As you guys probably know, when the tributes train together, alliances form. I've found myself caught trying to figure out and organize alliances. So, if you guys would like, you may PM me and ask for a certain alliance for your tribute. Keep in mind, that most careers will be in the same alliance, and the tribute you request may be going alone. Also, I can't make everyone happy if they all want different alliances. So, what I want you guys to know is that you can PM me about what alliance you want your tribute to be in. Just make sure you lat me know soon, or I'll have to figure it out by myself. Oh, and also, I am open to romance, so you can request that as well, but we can't have that many "Star-crossed lovers" going into the games, that just makes it cheesy, and if there's one thing I hate, it's cheese. Yuck!**

**One last thing: I want to give a special shoutout to TheMasterSlytherin for my 100****th**** review! It really makes me so happy to read all these wonderful reviews!**

**More tomorrow,**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	18. Training Part 1

**Training**

**POV: Adrian Morgan (18) (District 4)**

There are twenty-four of us, standing around in a half-circle. We're all sizing each other up, as if we haven't done enough of that already. Training is starting today. We're currently waiting for the head trainer to start talking. Finally, she does. "Welcome, everyone. My name is Gray and I am the head trainer here. Over the next few days, you all will be learning as much as you can in an effort to survive when you get to the arena. Every day, in training, the Gamemakers will sit up there and watch you all, evaluating your skills." She points to a large balcony where there are several men watching us.

They seem to be sizing me up as well, It feels like everyone has been looking at me, wondering if I'm as strong as I look. I know I look tough, and I like it. That's probably what's gonna get me in with the careers. So I just stand there, looking strong, and remaining calm while the trainers continue talking.

"Over there we have the survival stations, with fire starting, camoflage, berry picking, climbing, swimming," I look over to a large pool sitting in the middle of the room. _Why do we need to learn swimming?_ I wonder. "And then there's fighting stations over here; knife throwing, weights, sword fighting, archery, spear throwing, and we have a wide variety of weapons for you to practice with." I smile when I see a weapon rack full of shiny axes.

Once she lets us go, I head straight for the axes, wanting to get my hands on the best one. I see the District 1 tributes watching me. I can already tell they want me in their group. I chuckle and swing the axe around, slicing the heads off a few dummies with my muscular arms. Soon I get bored of swinging an axe, and decide to grab a knife, and practice some more.

**POV: Fig Crest (12) (District 11)**

The head trainer lets us go, and I begin walking around slowly, not knowing exactly what station I want to visit first. I want to work on my survival skills, and weapons equally, but where to start. Suddenly, I feel a tapping on my shoulder. I turn around to see two girls, one is tall, and skinny, with black hair. The other is short, with wavy aubun hair and pale skin.

"Hey! We were wondering if you wanted to come to the fire starting station with us?" The shorter one says, with a surprisingly excited voice and a wide smile.

I look at the two of them, wondering if I can really trust these girls that I just met. "Um…sure." I say quietly.

They both smile and begin walking over to the fire starting area. "I'm Florence, though you can call me Fizz." The shorter one says again. "And this is Lizzy!" She motions over to the black haired girl beside her. Fizz is definitely very lively, and Lizzy is more quiet and reserved. She seems hesitant about who she trusts, just like me.

We get to the fire starting station, and work for a solid half-hour. During that time, I find that I've learned a lot about these two girls, and I actually trust them. Fizz is from district twelve, and she's fourteen years old. Lizzy is fifteen years old, and from district ten. I like how upbeat Fizz is, she has a kind of positive air that makes our situation at least a little bit easier. Lizzy isn't as positive, but when you get past her shyness, she's actually really funny, always murmuring little jokes under her breath. I can only hope that I'll get to be in an alliance with my new friends.

**POV: Zayden Joyce (15) (District 3)**

I walk over to a large weapon rack, looking for something I like. Soon, I see two machetes, I grin. That's just what I like. I pick up the machetes and start swinging them around, liking the noise they make when I plunge on into the plush of a dummy. When I'm out of breath, I look over, watching the other people training with their weapons. I can easily see the career pack beginning to form Districts 1 and 2 are together, discussing an alliance. I can't wait till I kill those careers, that's the first thing I want to do in the arena. But I'll need a good alliance for that.

"Hey, you're pretty good." I approach another girl, watching her technique as she throws a spear across the room.

She looks at me, it's obvious that she doesn't trust me. "Thanks, and who are you?"

I decide it's time for a little charm. I shake her hand properly. "I am Zayden, but you can call me Mr. Obvious." I say with a crooked smile.

"Oh, you're from District three aren't you?" She asks, flipping her long black ponytail behind her shoulder. "I'm Ava, District fi." She seems to like me.

"Don't you just hate those careers, they're just like the capitol jerks." I say, motioning over to the large group currently near the throwing knives.

"I know! They all need to just get a life!" We both laugh, and continue practicing alongside each other for a while.

"Hey, how would you like to be in an alliance with me?" I ask after a few minutes of silence.

"Really, well…that would be nice actually." She says with a smile, seeming to trust me now.

"Great, I was thinking we go talk to that guy over there, maybe ask him to join." I point to a heavily built guy throwing punches at a dummy.

She nods and we walk over together. He's taller than me, I'd guess that he's about sixteen years old. "Hey." I greet him.

He turns around. "What's up?" He asks suspiciously.

"I'm Zayden, and this is Ava, and we were wondering if you wanted to join our alliance?" I ask.

"Really? Your just gonna ask me without trusting me, knowing me at all?"

"Look, we're planning on taking out the careers, and we need all the help we can get, so that's why we came to you. We're not going to betray you or anything, we just want your help." I say it as sincere as I can.

He looks at me, then to Ava, then back to me. "Alright, I'm in, but we're gonna need more people."

"Yeah, we can go find someothers." Ava says now.

"Cool. Oh, and by the way, I'm Maxus, and you should probably know, I've got a thing for fire."

I laugh. "Oh, a pyromanic, huh?"

**POV: Blaze Phoenix (13) (District 7)**

"Hey Phoenix!" Perry calls me from across the room. I roll my eyes. _How many different names is he going to call me?_

"Yeah?" I ask turning around and crossing my arms.

"Wanna go to throw some axes with me?" He asks, pretending to be throwing a large axe.

"Fine." I say quietly, and follow him. Last night at dinner, I told him that I wanted to try out throwing some axes, but didn't really wanted to show my skills to the other tributes. He also has an interest in axes, so now I guess we're all buddy-buddy.

We arrive at a weapon rack, and start practicing. "So, I was wondering…do want to be in an alliance with me?" He asked it casually, like he didn't really care what my answer was.

"Sure." I respond, deciding that it's better to have him than go alone. I also know I can trust him, he's grown too attached to me to stab me in the back.

"Awesome! I was thinking we should get Liam to join us too, you know, he's the guy from district 12?" He asks, pointing to a black haired kid at the archery station, shooting arrows.

"How do you remember all these names?" I ask him in awe. "But sure, let's go talk to him." We begin walking over to Liam, who seems to be showing off.

"Hey." Liam says when he sees us.

"Hi." I say. "I'm Blaze Phoenix, and this is Perry, we're from district seven."

He looks at both of us, watching my bright orange hair. "And you're here because you want me in your alliance." It's not a question, but a statement.

"Yeah, that's what we were planning, actually." Perry says. Now when I look over at Perry, I can see how much taller this guy is than both of us. He's at least sixteen.

"Maybe, I'll think about it." Liam says, and continues to shoot arrow after arrow.

"Cool." Perry nods, and pulls me away. "He wants to join, I can tell."

I giggle. "Sure, of course he does."

**POV: Mary Crosetti (17) (District 2)**

I walk over to find Kyvan, who's already talking with District 1. "Hey." The girl from district 1 greets me as I approach. I think her name is Alana.

"Oh, hi Mary." Kyvan waves. "I was just telling these guys how we should team up." he says with a smile.

"Oh." I say quietly, looking over to the boy from Dstrict 1. He's looking at me, wondering if he wants me in his group.

"I'm Markus, and this is Alana." His face looks brutal and serious.

"Hey." Alana greets me with a warmer smile. For some reason it seems like she likes me. Her face is different from the usual, menacing smile. "Do you guys wanna go throw some knives?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, lets go talk to the guy from District four." Kyvan says.

We all start walking towards the huge guy currently knifing a dummy. I look at the back of his arm. There some kind of tattoo that I can't seem to read on it. "You throw knives?" Alana asks me, picking up a couple in her hands.

"I can, but I prefer a bow." I say, taking a knife and running my fingers over it.

"Hey, big guy," Markus calls District 4. He turns around and grimaces. "Wanna join the winning team?" He's straight forward, pointing at the guy, then at himself.

"I'm Adrian, not _Big Guy_ and don't piss me off, or I will kill you." He says in a threatening voice.

I half expect Markus to attack Adrian now, but he doesn't. Markus knows that we need Adrian in our group. "Alright _Adrian_, so what do you say?"

Adrian nods, and looks at us, his new team. Then he turns around and returns to his knife. "See you guys in the games." He says absently. I don't really believe he'll be playing for our team in the games, I don't trust him. "Oh, and you should go talk to Kat, she's the girl from my district. You'll want her in your group as well."

Markus rolls his eyes at Adrian, and looks around for this Kat girl. Soon we spot her, she's shooting a bow.

"Markus, me and Mary have got this one." Alana says, waving Markus behind her with a fake smile.

I look at her with a confused face, wondering why she wants my help. "Us girls have got to stick together." She says quietly. I laugh and nod,

"Hello there." Kat says as we approach her, she's a petite girl with red hair and lots of freckles.

"Hi, your Kat, right?" Alana asks.

She turns to look at us. "My name is Katri, but I suppose you can call me Kat." She shoots another arrow and makes a bullseye. "So how can I help you? I saw you guys talking to Adrian earlier, are you recruiting?"

"Yes, that's exactly what we're doing." Alana says, seeming a bit agitated.

I intervene now, trying to defuse the tension. "So, do you want to join us?" I ask.

"She looks around, and nods. "Sure!"

**A/N: Yay, training! This is one of my favorite parts of the games! You guys probably figures out from the "Part 1" Thing, that this isn't the whole training. I have a lot more to write about that I'll be adding tomorrow. I know that I couldn't give everybody what they wanted with an alliance, but I think I at least gave everyone one of their requests. So please review, and see you guys tomorrow!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	19. Training Part 2

**Training**

**POV: Raven "Ray" Lux (14) (District 8)**

As day two of training starts, I head towards the spear throwing section. Yesterday, basically all I worked on was survival. Now today I want to finish up with the weapons, testing all of them out. I pick out a long, silver spear. It feels heavy in my small hands. I hoist it up above my shoulder, preparing to launch it across the room. I throw it, it whistles through the air, hitting a target with some force. It wasn't a very good shot. I frown.

Then, I pick up another spear, this one seems to fit better in my hand. In one swift movement, I send it barreling across the room, straight in the center of the target.

"Nice job." Someone says from beside me.

I turn around and get a good look at him, not saying anything. He's a tall guy, with shaggy black hair and bright green eyes. I recognize him as the guy from District one. Standing behind him are five others. They must be all the careers. I'm pretty sure it's districts one, two, and three.

"You're District eight, right?" He asks, already knowing the answer.

I nod, not saying anything. I don't trust them.

"You should join us." The girl from his district says now.

I remain silent for a couple of seconds. "No thank you." I say quietly, not wanting to piss them off and start a fight.

"Really? You think it's a good idea to turn _us _down?" He asks, anger in his voice.

"Look, I don't want to join you guys. So if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to my practicing." I say with no emotion, an easy thing for me.

"You just made a big mistake." The girl says menacingly. "You'll be the first to die when I get into the arena."

The whole group laughs, except the large boy in the back, he seems to hate them just as much as I do. "See you in the arena." The tall boy says with a smirk.

I easily forget about them, knowing that I can escape if I just run for it. I continue my spear throwing in peace, focusing on my training.

**POV: Contra Lerr (15) (District 3)**

I watch the careers as they approach a girl throwing spears. It seems like they're asking her to join them. Suddenly the boy from District one, Markus seems very angry, and so does the girl next to him. I laugh, imagining how she turned them down. They're going to be out to get her once the games start.

I'm throwing knives currently, I see a young boy watching me. He looks fairly intimidated by my aim. I give him a confident grin and he runs away to a bunch of other tributes swimming in the pool. I continue throwing my knives until I see that the careers are just standing around, not doing anything. I decide that it's time to make my move.

"Hey, I saw you guys trying to recruit that girl over there." I say, approaching the six of them.

"What do you want?" The girl from District four, Katri, asks.

"Well, I though that if you guys are recruiting, you might want me on your team." I say confidently, maybe a little more confidently than I had planned.

"And why would we want you on our team?" Alana asks, the girl from district 1.

"I'm pretty good with my throwing knives." I puff out my chest and flip my black hair.

They start to laugh at me a little, I get angered by this. "Look, you can't just come around here, asking to join, and expecting to get the royal treatment." Alana says, twirling her blonde hair.

"You guys just made a big mistake." I narrow my eyes staring Alana down.

Alana laughs. "Oh little miss four eyes is getting scary now!" She taps my glasses, and says it in a sing-song voice.

Suddenly, my hands are on her throat, and I can feel the anger pulsing through my veins. But she's strong, as a career should be. She punches me in the stomach and throws me to the ground. I yelp, and am about to get up and return the punch when a peacekeeper comes running between us.

"HEY! Calm down, both of you!" The peacekeeper is yelling. I look over his shoulder to see all the careers, laughing at me. "Stay away from each other, and save it for the arena!"

I get up, and give Alana a dirty look, then walk away angrily.

"That was some pretty brave stuff back there." A boy says to me. I turn to look at him and recognize his face immediately. Zayden.

"Thanks." I say, still cooling off.

"You, know, I've kind of started an alliance of my own." He starts walking next to me. "I think you should join."

I turn to look at him, his serious expression tells me that he really wants to team up. "With who?" I ask, still hesitant.

"Me, Ava from District five, Maxus from ten, and we just convinced Shaylee from six." He names them off, pointing to most of them, who are swimming in the pool. "We all want to get the careers, you know, take 'em out." He says, pretending to shoot each of them.

I think this over for a couple seconds, then respond. "Okay, I guess I'll join, but I get to kill that Alana bitch." I smirk.

He laughs and leads me over to the pool, where we can meet the rest of the group.

**POV: Tobias "Toby" Plander (16) (District 5)**

"Okay, so it's just a smooth stroke of your arm, and cup your hands like this." A trainer says, demonstrating how to swim.

I try taking steady strokes across the pool, mimicking what she did.

"Nice job Tobias!" She calls. I'm surprised she remembered my name. If I were her, I wouldn't want to get to know anybody. They'd probably just die in the arena, and that would be too sad for me.

I say goodbye to the trainer and exit the pool, taking off my wet suit and drying my sandy blond hair. Next, I decide to go learn about berry picking. It could be useful if I'm trying to survive alone in the arena. I don't think I'll have an alliance, I don't really trust anybody, the only reason I would have an alliance is if it's a younger kid, that I know I could easily take. But all the tributes here seem pretty threatening, except maybe a few twelve year olds.

I approach the berry picking area, where the trainer starts tell me the ways to identify nightlock. I listen intently, now wanting to forget this information. I barely know anything about plants, besides about three berries that are dangerous. I figure that if I can learn all this survival stuff now, I'll be relatively fine in the games. I can manage with weapons and fighting on my own. I only need to learn how to stay hidden, and survive in the wilderness.

The trainer starts talking about how good raspberries are to eat, and I make a mental note. Soon, we're interrupted by the head trainer announcing that it's time for dinner. I reluctantly exit the training room, and find Ava so that we can get back to our room.

**A/N: Done with training! Did you guys like it? I know it's a bit shorter than the last chapter, but I felt that this was all I needed to include. Do you guys understand the alliances so far? In case you don't, here they are: CAREERS: Markus Patilat, Alana Lukasiak, Kyvan Taanson, Mary Crosetti, Adrian Morgan, and Katri "Kat" Spectral. ALLIANCE 2: Fig Crest, Florence "Fizz" Moon, and Isabelle "Lizzy". ALLIANCE 3: Liam Dawnfell, Perry Nightheart, and Blaze Phoenix. ALLIANCE 4: Zayden "Mr. Obvious" Joyce, Contra Lerr, Shaylee Reserite, Maxus Jagger, and Ava Garrison. And all the tributes not mentioned here are going alone. Keep in mind that some alliances may change as people die, and the games continue. So let me know what you think, and tell me, which alliance do you guys think is the strongest?**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	20. Training Scores

**A/N: I did this chapter a little differently. It's not in the POV of the tributes. Instead, it's third person where the Gamemakers are discussing what scores to give the tributes. I felt that it would be easier to write this way.**

**Training Scores**

There was a large, elegantly carved wooden table. Around it sat the Gamemakers, the ones who decided everything. They held papers arranged into folders, each had a picture of a young girl or boy, and a name. Inside, it held all the information imaginable about that person.

"Alright, now that we're all here, should we begin with District one?" A tall, slim man by the name of Skeet said.

"Yes, in District one we have Markus Patilat and Alana Lukasiak." Another man, Borison, said from across the table, pulling out two folders and passing them around.

"Ah, Markus, he did quite a good job." Said Skeet.

Some nodded their heads in agreement.

"And what did he do again? Oh yes, he was the one who threw that weight across the room. He's a strong lad." A man named Goran said, his hair neatly slicked back into a ponytail.

"He's good with a sword too." Borison added.

"So can we agree on a ten?" Skeet recommended the score.

"Easily a ten, yes." A man named Ilias said in agreement.

"Okay, moving on," Borison passed another folder around. "Alana Lukasiak."

"Oh that was the blond one with the throwing knives?" Asked Ilias.

"Yes, she seemed like a solid ten as well." Boris said.

"So the standard District one scores, two tens." Goran said

"Yes." Boris agreed, then began searching for more folders. "District two, Kyvan Taanson and Mary Crosetti."

"Kyvan, he was the one who used the two swords, and then in training he hit a couple bulls eyes with a bow and arrows." Skeet informed the room.

"He's a young boy, only fifteen." Goran noted.

"But he's quite tall and strong." Said Ilias.

"He's with the career alliance, I think he should get a nine." Borison said.

"I agree, nine is good." Skeet settled the situation.

"Okay, now for Mary Crosetti." Borison said, looking through her file.

"Let me see it." Skeet commanded. Borison handed it over for Skeet to see after a minute or two. "Hmmmm…she's a quiet one, didn't talk much during training. She seems a little too kind and generous as well. Not as bloodthirsty. But she can sure shoot a bow and arrow." He flipped through the pages.

"I think it's an seven." Goran said, confident in his choice.

"Are you kidding? She hit three bulls eyes!" Ilias added.

"Yes, I'm thinking she deserves an eight at least." Skeet had the final word.

"District three, Zayden Joyce and Contra Lerr." Borison said, handing the folders out.

"Zayden was the one with the net!' Goran said, remembering his fishing skills, and how he easily netted his targets in their private session.

"And he can do some damage with a couple of machetes." Ilias said. "I'm thinking a ten."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Skeet chuckled. "And Contra Lerr…she was the one who got in that fight with Alana, from District one."

"Yes, she's has a short temper, and I don't think the sponsors are liking her very much so far." Borison said.

"I think she's a six." Goran said, looking over her file. "She's a small girl, only fifteen."

"Yes, I agree. So Zayden is a ten and Contra has a six."

"Moving on." Said Borison. "District four, Adrian Morgan and Katri Spectral."

"Ahhhh, Adrian was the big guy. He's good with an axe, as well as a knife." Ilias said.

"I think he's a nine." Skeet said.

"Yes, definitely a nine." Goran agreed.

"Okay, and Katri Spectral." Skeet said, looking at the picture of a small girl with golden red hair.

"She can also shoot well. She had a couple bulls eyes." Borison announced.

"I'd say, a ten." Ilias said. Everyone else agreed.

"Next is Tobias Plander and Ava Garrison from district five." Borison passed out the folders, following the routine.

"Oh, I remember Toby, he really stood out." Goran noted.

"Oh yeah, he was the guy who took the sword and electrified it?" Borison asked.

"Yeah, how did he do that?" Goran asked, remembering how it only took him a few minutes to electically charge a steel blade.

"He just used some wires, and sent a current through it." Skeet sounded unimpressed. "I'd give him an eight."

Nobody wanted to argue, so they nodded once again.

"Okay, and then we have Ava Garrison." Goran looked over the papers. "She did some spear throwing, knot tying, and knife throwing. I'd say it was mediocre work."

"Yeah, let's give her a six." Ilias agreed.

"Okay, and now here's Turk Ridley and Shaylee Reserite from district six." Borison distributed the papers.

"Nothing special with Turk, I'd give him a three." Goran said.

"Yeah, and Shaylee was decent at sword fighting, I'd say a six." Ilias added.

"Yes, a three and a six sound good." Skeet nodded absently.

"Okay then there's Perry Nightheart and Blaze Phoenix of District seven." Borison looked over their pictures. "They were both fairly impressive."

"I'd give Perry a six, he was good with a small axe in training." Ilias said.

"No, I think he's a five. He came in here and started running around, that's not gonna help us much. We need violence!" Borison was getting worked up.

"Calm down, Borison. I agree, he should get a five." Skeet admitted.

"Okay, and then for Blaze." Goran said.

"She was impressive, she can climb the trees easily, and she threw some axes in training." Ilias said.

"Yes, she missed a few targets in training, however. I'd give her an seven." Skeet said.

The word seemed final and everybody moved on.

"District eight, Gaven Incendi and Raven Lux." Borison handed dug the folders out of the pile.

"Gaven Incendi, he was a bit too confident. He can't really fight well either." Skeet said.

"Yes, I'd say a solid four." Goran said.

"And for Raven…She's good with spears and throwing knives." Ilias announced.

"Yes, I'll say an eight for her." Borison said.

"Yes, eight sounds good." Ilias agreed.

"Next is district nine." Borison handed out the folders, "Roland Nicks and Maroon Fauling."

"Hmmmm..neither of them stood out much." Skeet said, deep in thought.

"Roland is a tiny little boy, he couldn't even hold up a spear in training. He's going to be slaughtered." Goran said, very sure of himself.

"yes, I'm afraid the best we can give Roland is a two." Skeet said.

"Poor boy." Ilias looked upset for the death they knew was coming.

"And Maroon, she can climb trees very well, I'd say a five." Skeet said, reading some paper.

"Yes, and next is District ten."

"That Maxus boy did well, he can definitely start a big fire." Goran said.

"But how is that going to help him in the games?" Skeet asked rhetorically.

"Yes, fire is dangerous to oneself, it gives positions away."

"Alright, maybe a six?" Goran asked.

"That sounds reasonable, he did pretty well with hand-to-hand combat in training." Skeet agreed.

"And then we have Isabelle." Borison announced.

"She set up some good traps, and she knows a lot of survival skills." Ilias said, remembering the black haired girl.

"Yes, yes, but that can only get you so far. I'd give her a six." Skeet said confidently.

"And then we have Ello Holtz and Fig Crest from district eleven." Borison read from the folders.

"Ello was decent, he knows some survival skills." Skeet remembered.

"As long as he stays out of the bloodbath, he has a chance." Goran said.

"Five?" Borison asked.

"Five." Ilias confirmed.

"And then Fig…she made some deadly traps." Goran said.

"Yes, that gives her a six, I think." Skeet said.

"Finally, Liam Dawnfell and Florence Moon from District twelve." Goran took the folders from Borison.

"Liam was very good with a bow and a knife." Borison said, peeking over Goran's shoulder.

"Yes he was impressive, I'd give him a eight." Ilias said.

"I think something more like a ten or eleven." Goran said.

"Why don't we meet in the middle, how about a nine?" Skeet said, becoming the mediator.

"Fine." Ilias huffed.

"And last but not least, we have Florence." Borison read.

"She's fast, and a good archer." Ilias said.

"Seven." Skeet said quickly.

"Fine," Goran said. "Seven. Now lets get out of here and go have a drink!"

**Scores:**

**Markus Patilat- 10**

**Alana Lukasiak- 10**

**Kyvan Taanson- 9**

**Mary Crosetti- 8**

**Zayden Joyce- 10**

**Contra Lerr- 6**

**Adrian Morgan- 9**

**Katri Spectral- 10**

**Tobias Plander- 8**

**Ava Garrison- 6**

**Turk Ridley- 3**

**Shaylee Reserite- 6**

**Perry Nightheart- 5**

**Blaze Phoenix- 7**

**Gaven Incendi- 4**

**Raven Lux- 8**

**Roland Nicks- 2**

**Maroon Fauling- 5**

**Maxus Jagger- 6**

**Isabelle- 6**

**Ello Holtz- 5**

**Fig Crest- 6**

**Liam Daawnfell- 9**

**Florence Moon- 7**

**A/N: I'm surprised that we didn't have any elevens or twelves, but I just didn't feel like giving anybody that good of a score. Sorry if you're disappointed in your score, but that doesn't mean you're going to die in the bloodbath. Next chapter is the interviews, and that might take me a while. So I don't think I'll be able to update tomorrow, but I'll have the interviews done soon enough, and then the games can begin!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	21. Interviews

**Interviews**

**POV: Alana Lukasiak (18) (District 1)**

We all stand in a line, 23 of us. The only one missing is Markus, I'm watching him on the small TV screen. He's sitting there, next to Conan, being interviewed. He keeps flashing the audience grins, and fixing his black and silver tuxedo. I match him. I didn't know it until we all lined up together. I'm wearing a strapless sliver, floor length dress. We both look like we came here together, it's kind of odd, but we're from the same district so it works.

"So, Markus, tell us. Why did you volunteer at the reaping?" Conan, the host, asks Markus.

"Well, I've been training for as long as I can remember. Everyone in my family is a career, and now that I'm eighteen, it's my job to volunteer and win." Markus says confidently.

"Yes, I understand your sister won the games a few years ago." Conan added.

"Yeah, her name's Peyton." Markus looked angry, like he didn't want to be compared to his sister.

Soon, Markus exit's the stage, and I am called up. I put on a sexy smile and fix my silver necklace, then walk on stage gracefully. My dress sparkles in all the light I hear the crowd go mad cheering.

"Hello, Alana!" Conan says, motioning for me to sit down next to him.

"Hello!" I say cheerfully. The crowd applauds again.

"So, Alana, you seem very excited for the games."

"Well, yes I am. It's very exciting to be here, and the games sure are going to be fun." I say, smiling at the crowd.

"Now, Alana, you got a ten for you training score, that's pretty amazing. Tell us how you impressed the game makers." Conan asks.

"Yes I was very happy with my score." I lie. I wanted an eleven. "Basically, I just showed them my abilities with a throwing knife."

"Well, it will definitely be interesting to see how you do when the games begin." The crowd cheers again.

"Thank you Conan." I say in a sweet voice.

"Lets hear it for Alana Lukasiak!" He yells and the crowd goes wild.

I walk off the stage, waving goodbye, and enter the darkness behind the curtains.

**POV: Zayden "Mr. Obvious" Joyce (15) (District 3) **

I watch the girl from district two on the screen in front of me. Conan says her name is Mary. She's a small girl, but I saw her in training, she can be lethal. She's wearing a long, strapless gown and tall, purple heels that make her look a little taller.

"Mary, tell me about your strategy for the games." Conan asks her.

"Well, I can't give away too much, but I'm going to put up a big fight, I may be small, but I can do deadly damage." She says in a threatening voice, with a deadly smirk.

Soon, Conan dismisses Mary, and I'm called up.

"Here is Zayden Joyce!" Conan announces to the crowd.

I wave to everybody, shake Conan's hand, and sit down.

"Zayden, you're a good looking guy, I have to ask, are the ladies just all over you back home?"

I chuckle. "Well, I don't know about that."

"Oh don't be silly, I can tell. The audience loves you!" He extends his hand out to the crowd, and on cue, they begin cheering and screaming my name.

I laugh and wave at them, winking a couple times.

"I have another question for you." Conan says. "…How do you get your hair spiked up like that?" The crowd begins laughing.

I smile. "That, my friend, is top secret." I say, pretending to flip my hair. "You can touch it if you want." I offer.

He laughs, and then touches it, gasping to the crowd. "So spikey!" He says as another round of laughing takes over the crowd.

Soon, I'm ushered off the stage. I bow a final farewell to the crowd, and walk away happily.

**POV: Ava Garrison (17) (District 5)**

Toby just left the line, leading up the hallway to the stage. I can hear the crowd cheer as he appears on the screen overhead. I can barely concentrate on him, it's scary enough that I have to go next, now I also have to worry about him?

He's wearing a blue pinstripe suit and a red tie. His sandy blond hair is parted out of his face. Him and Conan talk for a while discussing how he managed to pull off an eight for his training score.

After what feels like two seconds, I'm being pushed forward to the stage. I just remember what my mentor told me, _Be mysterious, don't answer the questions completely._ I try a small smile, and aim it at the cameras when I walk on stage. It's an extraordinary room, there must be at least ten thousand people in the audience.

"Welcome, Ava, please sit down." Conan greets me.

I smile and keep quiet, waiting for the crowd to grow silent.

"I have to say, Ava, you look amazing!" He says.

I look down at my dress, it's a deep blue color, and shimmers in the light. My black hair elegantly falls down my back in curls. "Thank you, Conan."

"So Ava, tell us, what was the first thing that ran through your mind when you were reaped?" He asks.

"I was shocked at first, then I realized that maybe this was an opportunity." I end my answer when I realize I've probably said to much.

"An opportunity for what?" Conan asks with a puzzled expression.

"Well. I'm from an orphanage, so maybe this will get me out of there." I decide to answer.

He smiles. "Well that's very brave of you." Then he announces my name once again, and I exit the stage, heart beating rapidly.

**POV: Liam Dawnfell (16) (District 12)**

I watch the line in front of me slowly get shorter. Fizz stands behind me, and Fig from district eleven stands in front of me. Most of us are quiet, we only want to watch these interviews. Soon, the line is about halfway gone, and I watch a girl go up on stage. She's got long red hair and a slender frame, she looks nice in a dark green dress.

"Shaylee Reserite!" Conan announces as the crowd cheers for her.

_I'm going to remember that name. _I tell myself as her interview beings.

Soon, Shaylee is gone, and district seven leaves the line, followed by, nine, ten, eleven. Then me.

I walk on stage sporting a clever smile.

"Welcome, Liam, how are you?" Conan asks,

"I'm pretty good, I've been waiting for a while, but let me tell you, there is a very nice hallway out there!" I say with a convincing smile, pointing backstage.

Conan laughs. "You're a funny guy, Liam. Why don't you tell us about your family?"

I frown. That's not what I want to talk about. "All I have is my sister, Anna-May. My parents died from a fire a couple years ago."

His face fills with pity as the audience turns dead silent. "That's too bad, but I'm sure if you work hard enough, you can come home to your sister!" He says cheerfully.

I smile the best I can and nod.

"Liam Dawnfell!" He announces, and the crowd cheers as I walk off the stage.

**A/N: IT'S TIME FOR THE GAMES TO BEGIN! I'm almost shaking with excitement!**

** So how did you guys like the interviews? I'm sorry that I didn't include every tribute here, but I only thought it was important to write about some. Basically, I chose tributes that had a specified interview strategy in their application, or if an important event was supposed to take place.**

**Now, the next chapter is going to be the bloodbath, I will try to write that tomorrow, but I don't know if I'll get it done. When the games begin, chapters get complicated and hard to write. I might get it done tomorrow, but no promises.**

**Please review, I love reviews so much!**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	22. Bloodbath

**A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the delay on this chapter. On Friday, I spent the whole day with my friend because of her Birthday, and then yesterday, I was dog-sitting for another friend. So I've been very busy up until this morning. But I've finally done it, I wrote the first chapter of the actual games. So, without further ado, let the games begin!**

**Bloodbath**

**Day One**

**POV: Kyvan Taanson (15) (District 2)**

I'm slowly rising up, into the unknown. The tube that I'm standing in feels so small. When it opens up and my eyes adjust to the arena my small circle feels even smaller.

_Ten._

It's colossal, the sky is blue and it feels like I can see forever.

_Nine._

The first thing I actually focus on is the sand around my small platform. It's a golden-yellow color and stretches out all around me.

_Eight._

Next, I notice palm trees. They're tall and slim, with multiple coconuts hanging from the branches at the top. They surround me as well, scattered around the sand.

_Seven._

Water. When I look past the sand, everything is water. Fear stirs in my chest, I've always had trouble swimming.

_Six._

Next it's the other tributes. To my right is Mary, followed by Markus and Alana from district one. Their faces are menacing, I can see their eyes darting around in front of them.

_Five._

I follow their eyes to the Cornucopia. It's huge, filled to the brim with everything I could ever want. I set my eyes on two swords, glimmering in the sun. They're mine for the taking.

_Four._

I look behind me. It's a small island that we're standing on. It's probably only one-hundred feet behind me, that the water is lapping onto the shore in slow waves. There are boats too, I count six. They're simple motorboats, pushed up on shore for us to take.

_Three._

I look around the arena. To my right, there's a long beach, stretching far behind me, curving behind another island. Past that island, to my left, the beach appears again, only breaking for a stream to let out. I look through the palms to see in front of me. There's another island, bigger than the one I'm on. To the right of that island, it's a cliff. The cliff towers over everything, a raging waterfall falls from it. I follow the slow decline of the cliff to my right again, where I see the stretching beach.

_Two._

My eyes bolt back to the Cornucopia, setting on where I'll be running. The two swords, and hopefully a nearby backpack. Then, I quickly look to Mary, hoping to receive a smile, or at least something reassuring. She's looking at Alana, they're smiling at each other, picking out who to kill.

_One._

My feet spring forward, I lunge towards the Cornucopia at top speed.

**POV: Katri "Kat" Spectral (16) (District 4)**

I'm running towards the center of this small island, it seems like everyone around me is caving in on the Cornucopia. It takes only a second before I notice that I'm on the ground, sand spewed up in my face.

"Damn feet." I mutter, cursing my clumsyness.

Then I begin to hear the screams, I look up to see Markus in front of me, holding a long sword that is currently sheathed inside the stomach of a young boy. I recognize him as Turk Ridley, he's the one who got a three as his training score.

Markus pulls out the sword and glares at me, "GET UP!" He screams at me, then turns around to find someone else to kill.

I find my feet and jump up, focusing back on the cornucopia, where everyone is flocking around. I run straight towards a bow, just sitting there in the sand. Before I get to it, there's someone else there. It's a boy, Liam Dawnfell. I recognize him by his curly black hair. He's spotted me as well, looking me up and down.

He's strong, I know that. But he doesn't want to kill me. I short him a sweet smile, pretending that I'm not going to hurt him. He doesn't want to kill me, I can tell that he's looking for a way out. I continue my manipulative smile, putting on a mask of innocence.

Then for a moment, I see an small knife gleaming in the sand beside me. It's already tainted with someone else's blood. In one swift movement, I reach for it with my small arm, and grab hold of it tight. He sees what I'm doing and begins to run. I lunge for him, and slash into his arm as he turns to run away. The cut is deep, but not deep enough. He continues running, the blood drips down his bicep.

I try to chase him, but notice that he's already hopping into a boat with two others, it's the girl and boy from district seven. The boat rumbles as the motor turns on and they speed off, away from the cornucopia. I grimace at them. _He took my bow._ I think, remembering Liam's tan face, and bloody arm.

**POV: Isabelle "Lizzy" (15) (District 10)**

_I need to get out of here._ I think as I search for my allies. Within a few seconds, I see the familiar brown hair of Fig. She's beginning to run towards the shore, away from the Cornucopia.

"FIG!" I scream at her. She turns and spots me, then points to a lone boat, sitting on the shore.

I start running towards the boat, meeting up with her as we hop in, and slightly push the boat away from the shore.

"Where's Fizz?" Fig asks, frantically searching for the wavy auburn hair.

"There!" I say, pointing to the girl running away from the bloodbath. She has a huge smile on her face, and a backpack in her hand. But she's also limping as she runs.

We wave her down, and she sprints towards us, still slightly limping. Then we notice someone following her, the Raven Black hair says her name, Raven Lux. She holds a throwing knife and is currently aiming it at Fizz.

"Watch out Fizz!" I scream, pointing to the girl quickly catching up to her.

Fizz turns her head to see the girl, and ducks as a knife slices through the air towards her. We let out a breath as the knife sails past her head, and into a nearby palm tree.

Fizz jumps into the boat, and we push away from the shore. But this girl is also trying to jump onto the boat. I don't want to do it, but I know that I have to save my friends, I stand up and punch Raven, straight in the jaw. She lets go of her hold on the side of our boat, and Fig's foot comes in contact with her chest, throwing her away as we take off.

"I took an arrow." Fizz says, leaning over her ankle, which has an arrow currently stuck in the side.

"Oh no." I say, "Let me see the backpack, maybe there's medicine." I try to grab the black bag away from Fizz.

"No, it's okay, we need to get to safety before we worry about me. Besides, the salt water is cleaning it out" Fizz says, waving me off. I notice that her ankle is slightly wet.

"I agree, you two just look for a place where we can ditch this boat, I'll drive." Fig says, one hand on the throttle.

"Let's go to the big island, behind the smaller one, it's hidden away pretty well." I say, pointing to where the salty water curves around a medium sized island.

We all agree, and head towards the shore, hoping to silence the rumbling engine before anyone hears us.

**POV: Maroon Fauling (12) (District 9)**

When the countdown ends, I'm sprinting away from the cornucopia, knowing that I'll die if I go in. I don't have time to grab anything. I just need to get away from here. I look for a boat, but the nearest one is being crowded by a group of three. I think I recognize Blaze Phoenix as one of them. I know they'll kill me if I get too close.

I go to my last resort, diving into the water, and swimming away from the small island at full speed. I travel as fast as my small arms can take me, heading towards the second smallest island, next to a waterfall coming from the cliff.

I hear the boat engines starting up, and I swim faster, knowing that if they spot me, they'll definitely come for me. I somehow form an image in my head of a boat running me over, with the careers laughing as I'm sucked into the motor.

I concentrate on swimming, something I've always known how to do. My arms move quickly and continue moving even when I'm tired.

After what feels like an hour, I arrive at the shoreline of a small island. I crawl up on the sand, thoroughly exhausted. When I hear an engine from the water behind me, I suddenly find the courage to get up and run into the mess of palm trees and sand.

_Sleep._ My mind calls to me. I find a few palms that have fallen from the tree and bury myself in them, immediately falling into the surprisingly comfortable arms of sleep.

**POV: Mary Crosetti (17) (District 2)**

I'm running into the Cornicopia, my speed surpasses everyone as I'm the first to arrive there. I find a nicely shaped bow and grab it, slinging a quiver over my shoulder and pulling back an arrow.

"Alana!" I call as she runs to me. "Over there!" I point to a small stack of several throwing knives.

She smiles and picks them up. We look around at the people approaching us. I see a boy. I could kill him, I know it. But I just can't find the strength to release the arrow. Within seconds, I see Alana release a throwing knife from her hand. It goes straight into his chest, her aim is spot on. He screams and falls over, the cannon goes off.

"Markus!" Alana barks at the tall guy as he pulls a sword from another tribute's stomach.

Markus turns quickly to yell something at Kat, who is on the ground. Then he nods towards us, and comes running to meet up.

"We've got to kill everyone we can, I've already told Adrian to find us a boat, and defend it. We're going to stay here tonight, and leave tomorrow." He says, tucking a dagger into his belt.

Then I see the familiar face of Kyvan, he's holding a pair of twin swords.

I smile at him, glad that he's alive.

Markus looks like he's about to say something, but he suddenly pushes me aside, and slams the sword down on the shoulder of someone behind me. It's a young boy, I think his name is Roland or something. He groans and falls to the ground as Markus pulls a bloody sword away.

"Kyvan, you need to go help Adrian over there." Markus points to a boat sitting on the shore where Adrian is standing guard. "Defend the boat, we'll stay here and defend the Cornucopia." Markus orders.

Kyvan nods and runs away as we begin looking around the piles of supplies for stray tributes.

**POV: Maxus Jagger (16) (District 10) **

I hear a canon go off as I watch the Cornucopia, looking for my opening. I see Zayden and Contra, both charging into the battle. I begin running behind them, hoping to back them up. Yes, I have decided that I want to be allies with them. I realized that I have a much better chance just by joining up with a team rather than going alone.

I watch as Contra arrives at the Cornucopia and lunges at a knife, but another tribute is going for it at the same time. She ducks down and grabs the knife, holing it up as the other tribute falls on it. I grin as she slams the knife into his chest as another canon goes off.

I find an opening in the Cornucopia alongside Zayden. We run in and he grabs a machete, then exits.

"Meet by the boat, Ava's waiting there!" He calls back at me, and begins to run. I wonder why he fled so fast, maybe he just doesn't trust me.

I find a backpack and hide behind some crates, searching until I find a pack of matches. I smile and begin running towards a boat, barely making it away from the careers as they spot me.

"Hey." I say when I get to the boat, "You guys okay?" I count three heads; Zayden, Ava, and Shaylee.

"I think so, we've got a few scrapes, but we're alive." Zayden says. I notice a gash in the side of his head, and then another in Shaylee's shoulder blade.

"Throwing knives." Shaylee says, noticing that I'm looking at her injury. She holds up a bloody knife in her hand, smiling at her prize.

"Where's Contra, we've got to get out of here." Ava says nervously.

"There, she's fighting with a career." Zayden points to Contra, who is currently dodging the throwing knives of another girl.

"That's Alana, district one." Shaylee points out, a worried tone.

After a few seconds, Contra is bolting towards us, as knives are chasing her. "Start the boat!" She yells, a short sword in hand.

We all jump into the boat and she follows, dodging one last knife as she hops in. I notice a stream of blood coming down her arm, the mark of a throwing knife.

Alana is considering chasing after, but gives up, realizing it would be five to one. She walks over to a boy I recognize as Toby, from district five. They start fighting, but he seems to get away in another boat.

Zayden starts the boat. We begin gliding through the water, heading towards the beach. I count the number of cannons I've heard so far. Four. That's barely any, not enough to feel safe yet. There are still twenty tributes out there.

**A/N: So did you guys like it? Please review! I hope that this chapter wasn't confusing, I tried to explain the arena the best I could. I decided not to kill any tributes other than the bloodbath tributes, sorry if this is unrealistic, but I want everyone to survive a little bit longer. Next chapter will be up soon.**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	23. Day One

**Dead Tributes:**

**Turk Ridley (D6)(Killed by Markus Patilat)**

**Gaven Incendi (D8)(Killed by Alana Lukasiak)**

**Roland Nicks (D9)(Killed by Markus Patilat)**

**Ello Holtz (D10)(Killed by Contra Lerr)**

**Living Tributes:**

**Markus Patilat (D1)**

**Alana Lukasiak (D1)**

**Kyvan Taanson (D2)**

**Mary Crosetti (D2)**

**Zayden Joyce (D3)**

**Contra Lerr (D3)**

**Adrian Morgan (D4)**

**Katri Spectral (D4)**

**Tobias Plander (D5)**

**Ava Garrison (D5)**

**Shaylee Reserite (D6)**

**Perry Nightheart (D7)**

**Blaze Phoenix (D7)**

**Raven Lux (D8)**

**Maroon Fauling (D9)**

**Maxus Jagger (D10)**

**Isabelle (D10)**

**Fig Crest (D11)**

**Liam Dawnfell (D12)**

**Florence Moon (D12)**

**.**

**Day One**

**POV: Raven "Ray" Lux (14) (District 8)**

The boat I'm in makes a quiet noise as I switch it into idle and approach the shore of the large island. I'm near where the stream lets out onto the beach, on the opposite side of the waterfall. I try to lay low and go unnoticed because the careers are still at the Cornucopia island, and they have a clear view of me.

I continue slowly with the boat along the stream. It's just wide enough for me to pass through. Evenutally, the stream curves away from the view of the Cornucopia. I get out and pull the boat up on shore. I groan as I feel the aching in my chest from where that girl kicked me. Then I place my hand on my jaw, feeling where the other girl punched me. it's definitely dislocated. That's going to hurt in the morning.

Now, I evaluate my stuff. All I have is a spear, my throwing knives are all lost since I was chasing that Fizz girl. After the three girls got away, I managed to find a spear and sneak away on another boat and now I'm here.

My stomach growls and I look around for some source of food. Then I see several coconuts hanging off a palm tree. I smile and begin scaling the tree, it's easy for me to climb. When I'm at the top, I grab a couple coconuts and throw them to the ground. When I get back down, I find a rock and start breaking them open, drinking the juice and eating the shells of three.

Once I finish, I almost feel full, and the sun is just setting. I try to find a tree to sleep in, but it's incredibly hard to sleep in a palm tree, so I settle down under some leaves. Before I fall asleep, I hear music begin to play, and look up to the sky and watch as there are four faces projected onto the sky. I grimace as I see Gaven up there, but it's not much of a shock to me. I didn't expect him to get very far, and I knew not to get attached to anyone here. I've just got to survive on my own. Eventually, I fall asleep to the feint sound of monkeys squealing in the distance.

**POV: Florence "Fizz" Moon (14) (District 12)**

"Okay, let's see our supplies." Lizzie says, pointing towards my backpack, "We need to find medicine for your ankle."

I nod and hand her the backpack, then start looking around with Fig as she rummages through it. We're currently near a river, a little ways inland from where we left the boat behind. We're somewhere between the Cornucopia island, and a small river that lets out in a stream a little ways down the beach.

"Okay, we've got a small knife, one blanket, some matches, rope, and two large strips of meat. No medicine." Lizzie announces once she's emptied out the contents of the bag.

"We've also got the arrow in Fizz's ankle, which we should probably be getting out sometime soon." Fig points out.

"I'll take care of it, I can wash it out." Lizzy says, getting up and leading me over to the stream.

"Are you sure?" I ask, wondering if she knows what she's doing.

"Yeah, don't worry, I used to help my mom heal kids all the time, she was a nurse back home." Lizzy says solemnly.

"Okay." I say as she begins pouring the fresh water over my foot. After a few minutes of that, I feel a sharp pain as she pulls out the arrow. "OUCH!" I yell.

"Shhhh!" Both Fig and Lizzy say.

"You could have warned me you were going to do that." I say harshly.

"Sorry." She murmurs, concentrating on my bloody ankle.

After a minute or two, she walks over to where our supplies are and grabs the knife, then uses it to cut off some cloth from the bottom of her pants. Then, she ties it tight around my ankle. "That should stop it from bleeding for now, but it's still going to hurt, and I doubt you'll be able to walk in the morning." She says.

I nod and limp over to Fig, who is inspecting our supplies. "I say we save the meat for later, we need to find a safe place to sleep tonight."

"Oh, there's a huge tree down there, we can probably climb up there and sleep in it." I announce, pointing to a Mangrove tree by the river side.

"Lets go." Lizzy says, taking my arm to help me walk.

We get to the tree and climb up about halfway to the top where the branches are fairly large.

"I'll keep watch for a little while, you guys get some sleep, I'll wake one of you up in a little bit." Lizzy says, volunteering herself.

"Okay, come on fig, lets tie up here." I lead Fig over to one of the larger branches, and tie a rope around us as we sit down and drape the blanket over our bodies.

After only a few minutes we're both asleep while Lizzy keeps watch.

**POV: Zayden "Mr. Obvious" Joyce (15) (District 3)**

"Let's set up camp here." I say, finding an area where our boat is still visible, but we are under the cover of palm trees.

"Okay." Contra agrees. "And lets count up all our supplies." She sits down, and waits for the rest of us.

The five of us sit in a circle, and lay all our stuff out. Contra has a knife, Shaylee has another knife, I have a machete, Maxus has a backpack with one sleeping bag, matches, a water bottle, and an iodine bottle. "Okay, Maxus, you can keep the matches," I say, handing them to him, "Shaylee and Contra, keep your knives, I've got my machete." Then I look over at Ava, who is quietly sitting there with nothing. "Ava, do you want to hold the backpack?" I ask.

She nods, and slings it over her shoulder.

"Who's injured?" Maxus asks.

"I am, but I think I'll be okay." Shaylee says, pointing to her shoulder blade. Contra inspects it, and agrees with her since the bleeding stopped.

"Zayden, you're pretty bad." Maxus points to my head.

I put my hand up to the side of my head where there's a small gash, it's bleeding a lot. "Don't worry, I just need to apply pressure, it'll stop bleeding." I say nonchalantly.

"Careful, head wounds bleed a lot." Maxus says.

I take the sleeve of my jacket, and apply some pressure to my wound, stopping some blood from coming out.

"Let's go to sleep, we can eat some food in the morning, and then figure out a plan of action." Shaylee says, yawning.

"Okay, we can take turns using the sleeping bag, and keeping watch, I keep watch first." I say, standing up from the group.

Everyone agrees, and Ava takes the sleeping bag first, while Shaylee and Contra fall asleep next to her with knives in both of their hands. Next, Maxus lays down, instead of a knife, he holds a pack of matches. I start thinking up a plan. Maybe if we get Maxus to start a huge fire, we can attract the careers and ambush them. The only thing I really want to do right now is take out the careers.

**POV: Blaze Phoenix (13) (District 7)**

"Shhhhh! Be quiet!" Liam whispers as we quietly walk through the rainforest.

The sun is setting over head as we follow the river towards the waterfall where it lets out. That's where we've planned on camping out. The high ground is always the best, and this way, we have a view of the careers at the Cornucopia so we know when they're on the move.

After the bloodbath, we were able to escape with some weapons and a bag of fruit that I'm currently carrying. Then we took our boat over to the nearest beach, and started walking up the cliff towards the highest point in the arena, the waterfall.

While on the boat, we counted our supplies. Liam has a bow and arrows, I've got a knife, and Perry has a small axe that he picked up off a dead body. Other than the weapons, we've got the fruit that I'm lugging up this hill.

"This looks like a good place to stay." Liam points.

I'm about to agree, but then we hear the music as four faces are projected onto the sky. _Only four._ I think. The game makers must be pretty mad about that, they'll probably have something planned for tomorrow. Soon enough, the music stops and the sky goes dark again.

"Alright, let's sleep." I say, plopping down on the sand and making myself comfortable.

"I'm gonna go drink some water." Perry says, walking off to the top of the waterfall.

"Oh, I need to wash off my arm." Liam says, pointing to his arm that is currently tied with his shirt sleeve. It was bleeding pretty badly from what that career did to him, but he managed to stop the bleeding for a while.

Soon, they both get back to our little area, and we all bury ourselves in palm leaves, drifting off into sleep, only hearing the sound of water falling down the cliff.

**POV: Tobias "Toby" Plander (16) (District 5)**

I stagger out of the boat and stumble on shore. The large wound in my side keeps bleeding. I begin walking down the beach, towards the waterfall until I see another abandoned boat. There's nothing in there, so I head inland with my sword and backpack.

During the bloodbath, I managed to grab a sword, and find a backpack full of materials for me to use like rope, fishing line, wires, and batteries. I was so excited when I realized that I could use this stuff to electrify my sword, just like I did for the game makers. I started running for a boat, but then that Alana girl attacked me. I tried to fight her off, and managed to escape, but with a huge gash in my side.

The blood is gushing out and I continue walking through the palm trees, looking for fresh water. _There must be a stream around here that leads to the waterfall. _I think to myself. Then I find it, I almost scream with excitement as I hobble over to the water, and submerge myself. The cut stings a little, but I know this will clean it out. Eventually, I get out of the water, and lay down on the shore, falling into a peaceful sleep as my blood flows through the river.

**A/N: So I know nobody died in this chapter, and sorry if it was a bit anticlimactic. I wanted to clarify the supplies everyone has, and their condition. I didn't mention the careers because I think it's obvious that they're in wonderful condition and have all the supplies they need at the Cornucopia.**

**If you know your tribute is in bad condition and you want to, you may spend your sponsor points. You never know, it could save your tributes life. Just PM me if you want to send your tribute something.**

**So that's about it, I'll try to update tomorrow and you can see all the drama I have planned! *Evil laugh***

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	24. Day Two

**Dead Tributes:**

**Turk Ridley (D6)(Killed by Markus Patilat)**

**Gaven Incendi (D8)(Killed by Alana Lukasiak)**

**Roland Nicks (D9)(Killed by Markus Patilat)**

**Ello Holtz (D10)(Killed by Contra Lerr)**

**.**

**Living Tributes:**

**Markus Patilat (D1)**

**Alana Lukasiak (D1)**

**Kyvan Taanson (D2)**

**Mary Crosetti (D2)**

**Zayden Joyce (D3)**

**Contra Lerr (D3)**

**Adrian Morgan (D4)**

**Katri Spectral (D4)**

**Tobias Plander (D5)**

**Ava Garrison (D5)**

**Shaylee Reserite (D6)**

**Perry Nightheart (D7)**

**Blaze Phoenix (D7)**

**Raven Lux (D8)**

**Maroon Fauling (D9)**

**Maxus Jagger (D10)**

**Isabelle (D10)**

**Fig Crest (D11)**

**Liam Dawnfell (D12)**

**Florence Moon (D12)**

**.**

**Day Two**

**POV: Shaylee Reserite (16) (District 6)**

"Pssst…Guys, wake up!" Someone is whispering. It sounds like Ava's voice.

I open my eyes to find the sunlight peeking in between palm leaves above me.

"Shit!" Zayden mutters from beside me.

I follow his eyes to where there is a huge beast staring at us with hungry eyes. It looks like a mix between a bear and some kind of bull because of the sharp looking horns sticking out from it's head. It lets out a low growl while pointing it's horns at us and preparing to charge. Fear stirs withing my chest as I feel the urge to flee.

I'm expecting us to all start running wildly, but Zayden does the exact opposite, he pulls out his machete and prepares to fight. Then, Contra and Maxus do the same, then Ava hesitantly pulls out her knife. Actually it's my knife, I let her borrow it while she was keeping watch.

I stand there, weaponless as the bull charges us, and weapons begin flailing. First, Zayden and Contra jump to the side, avoiding a horn in the stomach. Then, Ava runs up to the back end of the bear-bull and sticks a knife straight in it's back. It growls even more while bucking away from the blade. Zayden manages to sink his machete into the back of the beast. It's really angry now.

It charges at Ava, her being the first person it laid eyes on. Her eyes widen in fear and she begins running through the palm trees, with us chasing after. We can barely keep up. Soon, we hear a bloodcurling scream as we watch the bear-bull tackle Ava to the ground.

"COME ON!" Zayden screams, charging at the beast, raised machete in hand.

We follow after, desperately trying to free Ava. She's fighting as best as she can, repeatedly stabbing the beast with her knife. But she's under it, and it's repeatedly bashing her with it's horns. We arrive next to it and start bashing it with our own weapons, but it's only focused on Ava.

Then we hear the cannon.

Ava's limp body is sitting there, underneath the bear-bull, dead.

Zayden is the only one who continues stabbing mercilessly before the giant beast runs off, wheezing. We all kneel down at her bloody body. I can't tell what's her blood, and what might be the animal's, at least she put up a fight.

We sit there for a couple minutes, in utter silence, just staring at her body. Then we hear the revving of a boat engine. "They're after us." Zayden says, looking towards the beach.

"We better get out of here." Markus says, standing up.

I take my knife out of Ava's bloody hand, and follow them as we walk upstream, away from where the river lets out in a waterfall.

**POV: Adrian Morgan (18) (District 4)**

I wake up first, sitting up to watch the sunrise behind the Cornucopia. Then I look around, everyone's here, Kat's next to me, then Kyvan, Mary, Alana, and Markus. We're surrounded by our supplies, we have just about anything we could possibly want here at the Cornucopia. I'm holding a large axe in one hand, always prepared for a fight.

After a few minutes, Kat wakes up. "Morning." She greets me.

"Good morning." I respond quietly.

Suddenly, we're all jerked awake by a scream off in the distance. "What was that?" Alana asks, rubbing her eyes.

"It's coming from over there!" Mary points to the large island, where the cliff ends and becomes a beach. Then we hear a cannon.

"Let's go!" Markus yells, "where there's cannons, there's tributes."

We grab some weapons and follow him into a boat, where Alana starts driving. "Faster!" Markus says impatiently. "They're getting away!"

After only about a minute, we arrive at the large island, and start running through the trees and sand, looking for any sign of life.

"Over here!" Kyvan calls us. We run over to find a bloody corpse on the ground.

"Mutts?" Mary asks.

"No, it's something else." Markus says, eyeing the body.

"Come on, I think she had allies, maybe we can find them." Alana says, pointing off into the rainforest.

**POV: Fig Crest (12) (District 11)**

I wake up to the sound of a cannon, booming through the sky. Once my eyes have adjusted to the bright sunlight, I look over to see Lizzy and Fizz are both awake, looking around. We're still sitting in this large tree, Lizzy and I are tied to a branch, while Fizz keeps watch from one branch over.

"Who do you think it was?" Lizzy asks.

"It could have been anyone." I say quietly.

"We'll know by tonight." Fizz concludes.

"So we should probably do something." Lizzy says. "Are you guys hungry?"

At that moment, I notice how empty my stomach feels. I nod, and start looking around.

"Maybe we could catch a fish!" Fizz says excitedly.

Lizzy laughs, "How, we don't have a fishing pole or a net, or really anything. We've also got that meat."

Then it notice it. A small, silver parachute caught in a tree, I trace the string of the parachute down to a small jar. "Hey, look!" I point excitedly.

Fizz and Lizzy both whip their heads around to look at it. "A parachute!" Fizz exclaims.

"I'll get it." Lizzy says, hoping over one branch in the tree, and untangling the parachute. She slowly twist the cap of the jar, opening it up and smiling. "Fruit!"

I get up and hop over, looking into the jar where an apple and orange lie.

"Ouch!" Fizz says from behind us. I turn around to see her nursing a swollen ankle. She must have tried to get up.

"On no. It got worse." Lizzy examines it, "You probably shouldn't walk on it."

Fizz nods. "But I can't just sit around, doing nothing!"

"Don't worry about it, you need to rest. Fig and I can start setting up some traps, maybe we can use the rope and catch an animal or something." Lizzy says. I wonder why she doesn't say person. Then I realize that she couldn't kill someone if she caught them, none of us probably could.

"First lets eat some fruit!" I say, noticing my growling stomach. We split the fruit three ways and eat it quietly, listening to the sounds of the birds.

"Alright, lets go, Fig." Lizzy says, grabbing the rope and knife.

Fizz snorts, watching us climb down the tree as she sits there, keeping watch.

"I learned how to set up this trap at training, it can catch a small animal." I say, demonstrating my favorite trap, involving multiple sticks bent together so that when one is moved, it causes a rope to catch the animal moving it. Lizzy gives me some rope, and I start building the trap while she goes off looking for some food.

**POV: Perry Nightheart (14) (District 7)**

"The careers are coming towards the beach." I point to my view of the small boat.

"Crap, they're probably gonna head this way." Blaze watches the boat from behind me.

"Hey Liam do you think you could shoot them from here?" I ask, pointing to Liam's bow .

Liam walks over and evaluates the motorboat. "No, they're way too far, and besides, we don't really have anywhere to run to." He looks around, "unless you want to jump?" He points to the waterfall, laughing a little.

"I wonder who died." Blaze says quietly.

I shrug my shoulders and grab my axe, "They just got off the boat, we better get ready for them."

"Are we going to fight?" Liam says, a little unsure of himself.

"We should hide, but if you have an opportunity…take it." I hesitate, knowing that I don't want to face the careers.

"Okay." Liam says, running away to hide behind some bushes, bow at the ready. Then Blaze runs off with her bag of fruit to hide somewhere else, and I'm left hiding behind a palm tree.

"Come on! Faster!" I hear a deep, angry voice yell. Sounds like a career.

"We're going as fast as we can!" A girl yells, obviously annoyed.

Then I see them there are six of them, and three of us. There's no way we can take them. Leading the pack is Markus, from district one, followed by the district one girl, and then district two and four. They all have a wide variety of deadly weapons. Markus holds a long sword, and the girl from four holds a bow with a quiver on her back. The district one girl has multiple throwing knives, ready to be launched.

I hear a movement in the bushes where I think Blaze is. _Crap!_ Markus has paused, and is holding a hand out for everyone else to stand still, looking around. I hold my breath, and ready my axe in case they see me.

Quickly, like a bullet, I hear an arrow slice through the air, planting itself straight into the chest of the girl from district two. She screams and only a few seconds later a cannon goes off and the careers are chasing after where the arrow came from. _Liam._ I raise my axe and prepare to fight, slowly following after them. Blaze is there too, she's looking at me with a panicked expression.

Next we hear Liam's scream, and he's running back towards us, being chased by the five of them, and bloody Markus in the lead, with an arrow in his shoulder. I smile at Liam's fighting. The smile is quickly wiped off my face as I see the throwing knife hit the large palm tree next to me. It's that district one girl, and her deadly aim.

I watch as Kyvan, from district two charges Liam, catching him quickly and sheathing one of his twin blades in Liam's back. I hear Blaze scream as she bolts away from them, towards the waterfall. I know that's my only choice, so I follow her, jumping off the towering waterfall into the salty water below. While in midair, I hear Liam's cannon go off, that's when I register that he just died.

I watch Blaze splash into the water and disappear, then I break the surface, causing the cold water to shoot up my nose. I can barely keep afloat, I flail my arms wildly, hoping to somehow not drown. After a good ten minutes of exhausting swimming, I find myself grabbing onto a rock a little ways down from the waterfall. Then I notice that there's a large opening behind it, a cave. I crawl out of the water, thoroughly exhausted with only my axe in hand. Somehow, I must of managed to keep the axe with me. Then I search the light blue water for Blaze, but she's nowhere to be found.

**POV: Raven "Ray" Lux (14) (District 8)**

I sit in silence, surrounded by palm leaves. All I can find the strength to do is ponder where I go from here. _How could I possibly win? I'm no career. Will I ever go home? _These thoughts fill my mind as I watch the swift movement of the stream in front of me.

I start thinking back to Renan, my boyfriend. He's the only one I've ever let into my heart, and now I've abandoned him to go die in the games. That's it, I'm going to die here. Hopeless thoughts fill my mind as I fiddle with the spear in my hand.

Then I hear it. A single cannon. To the careers, this means nothing, just another death. But to me, it means everything. It means maybe I can survive out here, and maybe I will go home to see Renan again. I smile and stand up, heading over to a palm tree, looking for some coconuts. I do the same thing I did last night, scale the tree and pluck a few coconuts.

Once I'm back on the ground, I begin eating happily. It's surprising how upbeat death can make me.

Another cannon booms throughout the arena. I smile. Then I realize what I'm smiling for, and hold it back. I don't want the people back home to think I enjoy death. Soon, there's another cannon. That's three today. In total, seven down, sixteen to go. Sixteen is far too many for these hopeful thoughts.

**A/N: Did you guys like it? Please review, you know I'm just a review-whore (Pardon my French). I'm sorry to basketball1029 for killing Mary, sorry to ShillaS for killing Ava, and sorry to minimojo99 for killing Liam. They were all wonderful tributes and I hate having them die, but we can only have one winner. **

**I have two little pieces of advertisement here: First, I'm part of a 24 author collaboration SYOT, it's called "Thirteen" and is by Jakey121. You should totally check it out, the prologue is up, and I believe there are still open spots for tributes. If you want to submit a tribute, go to the forum under the same name and author. Next piece of advertising, I have a new story, it's Harry Potter and the ship is Dramione, it's called "Wizard Protection Program" if you guys like Harry Potter, I'd love it if you'd R&R. Thanks!**

**I've also realized that I probably won't be able to update every day from now on, but I will stick to every other day. These chapters are long, and involve some stressful planning. So please review and tell me what you think, and I'll update soon!  
**

**Your Gamemaker**

**Bluebird**

**P.S. Sorry for the dreadfully long Author's note.**


	25. Day Two Continued

**Dead Tributes:**

**Turk Ridley (D6)(Killed by Markus Patilat)**

**Gaven Incendi (D8)(Killed by Alana Lukasiak)**

**Roland Nicks (D9)(Killed by Markus Patilat)**

**Ello Holtz (D10)(Killed by Contra Lerr)**

**Ava Garrison (D5)(Killed by Bear-bull)**

**Mary Crosetti (D2)(Killed by Liam Dawnfell)**

**Liam Dawnfell (D12)(Killed by Kyvan Taanson)**

**.**

**Living Tributes:**

**Markus Patilat (D1)**

**Alana Lukasiak (D1)**

**Kyvan Taanson (D2)**

**Zayden Joyce (D3)**

**Contra Lerr (D3)**

**Adrian Morgan (D4)**

**Katri Spectral (D4)**

**Tobias Plander (D5)**

**Shaylee Reserite (D6)**

**Perry Nightheart (D7)**

**Blaze Phoenix (D7)**

**Raven Lux (D8)**

**Maroon Fauling (D9)**

**Maxus Jagger (D10)**

**Isabelle (D10)**

**Fig Crest (D11)**

**Florence Moon (D12)**

**.**

**Day Two (Continued)**

**POV: Contra Lerr (15)(District 3)**

"A fire? Do you realize how hard it is to start a fire in this climate?" Zayden asks Maxus, after he pulls out his box of matches.

"Look, I'm the one who will be starting the fire, so it's my concern. And I promise, I can start a fire here." Maxus argues, slicing open his coconut.

"Yeah, Zayden, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. And besides, if we want to attract the careers, a fire is our best bet." I say from my spot in the circle of four. We're all sitting on the sand, by the start of the large river.

"I agree." Shaylee interjects, "Maxus, I'll help you set up if you want."

Zayden sighs and gets up to look around.

"No, let's wait until morning, then they won't have the cover of night." Maxus says, eyeing the setting sun.

"I'll keep watch first, you guys can sleep." I say to the three of them.

"Okay." Zayden agrees.

The three of them settle down in the palm leaves while I sit here, stomach growling, watching as the capitol music starts to play. The only thing I've had to eat today is two coconuts, and some pineapple we found. Tomorrow I'll have more to eat, if I make it out alive. We've got a big plan for the careers, we're going to trap them, and attempt to kill them off. I only hope they don't end up killing us instead.

I watch the sky as three faces appear, districts two, five, and twelve. One of them being Ava's sunken face. I fight tears, remembering her bloody corpse. Eventually, I'm able to focus on keeping watch, and not on Ava.

**POV: Tobias "Toby" Plander (16)(District 5)**

I limp slowly along the riverside, the three booming cannons still echoing in my ears. I desperately want to know who died today. I can only hope that it wasn't Ava, but there's a strange feeling in my stomach telling me that it was her.

Then I see the small form of a monkey wrapped in some vines. I feel my stomach growl. I'm so hungry. I begin climbing, ignoring the sharp pain in my side from my still slightly-bleeding gash. I get to near the level of the monkey, which is inspecting me curiously.

"Come here, little guy." I whisper gently.

The monkey is hesitant, but inches forward. Once he is in my range, I swing my sword, sending sparks through the air. I make contact with the monkey and it begins squealing, electrocuted by my sword. It falls out of the tree, hitting the ground.

I drop from the tree and examine the dead body. My sword works well. This morning, when I woke up, I spent a couple hours connecting wires all over my sword, and causing an electric current to run through it.

I turn off my sword by removing one wire. Then I begin cutting up the monkey, skinning it so that I can eat. Once I'm done, I turn my sword back on and start electrocuting the meat I've harvested, causing it to cook under my blade.

I feast on the monkey flesh, knowing well that this is inhumane, and the folks back home will wonder what kind of monster I've turned into. But I haven't even killed anyone. _Just a monkey_. I tell myself.

Soon, I'm done eating and I settle down under the palms, waiting for the sky to light up. After a few minutes, the music plays and I see the first face, a girl from district two. The next face causes me to gasp. It's Ava. I choke back tears as I wonder who killed her. It was probably that district two girl. I suddenly feel hatred bubbling up inside me. I want to find them, I want to kill those careers.

**POV: Maroon Fauling (12)(District 9)**

I don't know where I am. Somewhere on the second smallest island, near the waterfall. I heard three cannons go off only a few moments ago. All I know is that I'm hungry and I don't want to die.

Then I see it, a flash of orange in the trees. I freeze, hearing the rustling of palms.

A body hits me like a rock, tackling me to the ground in a mess of wet orange hair. Someone is on top of me, grabbing at my throat, not choking yet, but preparing to. I try to scream, but can't find my voice in all this fear.

"Who are you?" A harsh voice asks me. I finally make out her face recognizing her from training, Blaze Phoenix.

"I-I'm Maroon, f-from district nine." Fear shakes my voice as I stare, wide eyed at her.

She looks me up and down, harsh eyes staring at my petite form. Finally, she gets off and I breath a sigh of relief. But I'm still afraid to move, frozen there on the ground.

"I'm not gonna kill you," She says calmly, standing up. "I'm Blaze Phoenix, district seven." She outstretches a hand, trying to help me up.

I take her hand as she pulls me to my feet. I'm still afraid to say anything to her. The only thing my mind can do is look at a bag of fruit hanging by her side.

"Do you want some?" She offers, opening the bag.

I nod and take an apple, biting into it immediately and relishing in the taste. "Thank you." I say with a full mouth.

She laughs, "No problem."

"Why are you all wet?" I ask, more comfortable with her.

"I had to jump off the waterfall and swim here, the careers attacked my friends and I." She looked sad now.

"Are your friends okay?" I ask, remembering three cannons.

"One is dead, the other, I don't know." She examines the sky, where the sun is just setting, leaving an orange tint.

"Oh." I say, finishing off my apple, "Do you want to be in an alliance with me?" I find the courage to ask.

She smiles, "I'd love to, and maybe we can find my friend, Perry later."

I beam with happiness. I'm in an alliance, and that brings me so much hope to survive.

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter is so short. I wanted to finish up day two before we move on to day three. So please review and tell me what you think! There will be lots of drama next chapter! Oh, and also, I will be going out of town this weekend, leaving tomorrow morning and coming back Sunday night. So I'm guessing the next update will be Monday, but if there's a lot of delay, it could be Tuesday. **

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


	26. Day Three

**Dead Tributes:**

**Turk Ridley (D6)(Killed by Markus Patilat)**

**Gaven Incendi (D8)(Killed by Alana Lukasiak)**

**Roland Nicks (D9)(Killed by Markus Patilat)**

**Ello Holtz (D10)(Killed by Contra Lerr)**

**Ava Garrison (D5)(Killed by Bear-bull)**

**Mary Crosetti (D2)(Killed by Liam Dawnfell)**

**Liam Dawnfell (D12)(Killed by Kyvan Taanson)**

**.**

**Living Tributes:**

**Markus Patilat (D1)**

**Alana Lukasiak (D1)**

**Kyvan Taanson (D2)**

**Zayden Joyce (D3)**

**Contra Lerr (D3)**

**Adrian Morgan (D4)**

**Katri Spectral (D4)**

**Tobias Plander (D5)**

**Shaylee Reserite (D6)**

**Perry Nightheart (D7)**

**Blaze Phoenix (D7)**

**Raven Lux (D8)**

**Maroon Fauling (D9)**

**Maxus Jagger (D10)**

**Isabelle (D10)**

**Fig Crest (D11)**

**Florence Moon (D12)**

**.**

**Day Three**

**POV: Maxus Jagger (16) (District 10) **

"Shaylee, are you almost finished over there?" I call quietly through the trees, watching the slender red head place palms in a line.

"Yeah, I'm just about done." She finishes up, then walks over to me, "Are you sure this is gonna work?"

I nod, "Positive."

"Okay, are Contra and Zayden ready?" She looks around in the trees for our two allies.

I look around as well, noting the rising sun in the distance. It's still early morning, but we have to get this fire started quickly so that we can attract the careers. Then I spot the gleam of a blade in the sun, it's Zayden's machete. He's waving at me from behind a large tree in the distance, giving the all-clear signal. Then he points the machete over to Contra, who is currently sitting in a huge tree by the river, waving as well.

"Yeah, they're ready." I confirm, pulling out my pack of matches. "So here's what we're going to do," I point into a large pile of palms a couple yards away, "I'm going to light that pile, you're gonna be waiting with Contra in that tree. I'll stay here and wait for the careers. When they come, we don't attack. You take this match," I hand her a single match with a bright red tip, "And light the outside circle, that will trap them."

"wait, where are you going to be?" Shaylee asks.

"I'll be hiding over here, I've got to make sure the fire works properly." I say, motioning to my large creation, "Don't worry about me. But if there's one of them, alone...that's escaped the fire, then you guys attack." I order hesitantly.

"Are you sure?" She says with a nervous frown.

"Yeah, and don't worry, the three of you can take one of them." I pat her on the back, and point her towards Contra.

Suddenly, she leans toward me, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Be careful." She says quietly into my chest.

"You too." I say as she releases the hug and runs off, climbing the tree to join Contra.

Now, it's time. It's time for me to put this whole plan into action. I approach the large pile of dried up and dead palms, taking out a match. I strike the red tip against the matchbox, smiling slightly as it sparks into a tiny flame. "Here we go." I mutter to myself, kneeling down to light the pile of palms.

It starts out as a slow fire, black fire, barely making smoke. Then I begin to fan it with a palm, causing the fire to grow. I begin feeding it, and soon enough, the flame is a foot tall, then two, then three. I run back a little, hearing a boat zooming towards the nearby beach.

**POV: Makus Patilat (18) (District 1)**

We're sitting on the beach, looking out at the arena. The five of us are sitting on the island near where the river lets out, on the opposite side of the waterfall. We slept here last night, after having no luck finding that Blaze girl and her friend, Perry. We're focusing on a certain large tree, where Alana is convinced she saw movement. It's near where the river lets out, towering over most.

"It's just a monkey or something." Kyvan mumbles. He's been in a particularly bad mood since Mary died. But Alana has too, they were pretty good friends, kept talking and giggling like normal teenage girls.

"No, I swear I saw a girl over there." Alana says harshly, staring at the tree.

"Hey, what's that?" Kat asks, pointing to a thin line of smoke behind us.

"There's a fire." I say, running along the beach to get a better view. The four of them follow until we have a clear view of the largest island, where a tower of smoke is coming from the trees.

"Lets go." Alana says angrily, running back to the boat.

"Wait, what if it's a trap?" Adrian says, it's the first time he's talked all day.

"Probably not. And besides, we can handle a trap." I say confidently, climbing into the boat behind Alana.

Next, Kyvan and Kat get in, followed by a very hesitant Adrian. Alana starts driving the boat, slicing through the blue water. "Weapons ready." I order, gripping my large, gleaming sword. Alana nods from beside me, preparing some throwing knives while Kat strings an arrow onto her bow and Kyvan holds his twin swords. Adrian angrily grips an axe. I can tell that he doesn't want to be here. It would be better if I killed him soon...

"Come on." Alana says excitedly, bolting into the forest towards the now huge fire.

Soon we see it, at least five feet of orange and red fire. There's no way this is just a campfire. We look around hesitantly, raising our weapons. Then I see a guy, he's standing a little ways behind the fire, just staring at us.

Then there's Alana, running towards him, eager to kill. That's when I realize this is a trap, I see the circle of palms on the ground, creating a closed in area around the fire. "Alana!" I call back, realizing how much of a mistake she's making. I can't stand here and watch her die, I run forward, chasing after her as she hurls knives at the guy.

She must have hit him, because he's stumbling backwards, running away and out of the circle of palms.

She begins chasing, but is halted when a spark of orange flames erupts in front of her, then begins slithering like a snake around the circle, surrounding us. I look back to see that only Kyvan and Kat are behind me. I feel a bubble of rage growing within me as I see Adrian on the beach. He's running down the beach, away from the direction of the waterfall. I grimace and turn back to Alana who is throwing knives up into a tree somewhere.

**POV: Alana Lukasiak (18) (District 1)**

"I'm going to Kill you!" I yell angrily at the two girls in the tree. I begin throwing my remaining knives at the girls, one of whom I remember as Contra, the girl that attacked me in training.

"Alana!" Markus calls, running towards me with Kat and Kyvan behind. "Alana, calm down." He puts him hands on my shoulders, looking at me with pleading eyes.

His words and hands on my shoulders don't help to calm my temper. I know that I can't avenge Mary by killing them, the boy who killed Mary is already dead. But I just want to kill them so badly, the bloodlust drives me.

"I've got it." Kat says, stepping forward and motioning to her bow. Now I realize that I've run out of throwing knives, and she's probably our only hope to kill them.

I nod and Kat quietly walks around the tree, raising her bow, and pulling back the arrow to her shoulder.

Kat releases an arrow and the cannon goes off only a few seconds later, willing the girl's body to fall from the tree.

The other girl screams. "ZAYDEN! MAXUS!" She yells in a panicked and frantic voice as Kat pulls back another arrow.

She jumps out of the tree and I recognize her, Shaylee is her name. That means that Kat killed the other one, the one who attacked me. I'm happy that the bitch is dead, but I wished it was me who killed her.

Shaylee is running away from the fire to where I see two boys are standing, probably Zayden and the boy who started this fire.

"BURN BITCHES!" Zayden screams, as him and the other boy begin laughing. Their laughing stops when Shaylee arrives next to them. She must have just told them of Contra's death.

I feel the rage building up again, and see an opening in the fire. I run, jumping over the flames and feeling a hot pain on my foot. It's not that bad and I keep running, hearing the footsteps of my allies behind me.

Zayden comes running after me, swinging his machete at my head. I duck, kicking him in the stomach as I dive down. He keels over and staggers back. Behind him, the fire-boy is standing there, with my throwing knife stuck in his arm. The girl next to him, Shaylee, is hesitantly raising her dagger, preparing to fight me.

"Alana, here!" Kyvan yells from behind be, tossing a knife in my direction. He must have gotten it off of the dead girl, because this isn't one of my throwing knives.

But Kyvan wasn't paying attention, he was looking at me, and not the fire-guy who is now standing behind him, with my throwing knife raised in his hand.

"NO!" Kat screams as she releases an arrow at the fire-boy and it hits him in the shoulder. But he doesn't stop, he's still lowering his hand, stabbing Kyvan in the back.

Kyvan yells next, an agonizing pain filled scream. Kat is sprinting towards fire-boy while Markus and I run for Zayden and Shaylee. They start running, and eventually separate, going in completely different directions. We hear a cannon booming over head and Markus stops me, grabbing my arm.

"We need to go back." Markus says. "Find Kat."

I'm surprised that Markus is the one to urge me to stop chasing them, but I nod and we run back.

Kat is standing there, staring down at Kyvan's body on the ground. "There goes district two." She whispers to us.

"We'll kill them." Markus says quietly, "We'll kill all of them."

Kat and I both nod, hoping that this is true. It's strange how our group of careers used to be six, and now it's down to three.

"Come on, we'll go back to the cornucopia for today, then tonight we can hunt." Markus leads us towards the boat, and we get on, heading to the small island in the middle of the arena.

**A/N: I just want to clarify a few things here: first, Adrian has separated from the careers, and is still alive. Secondly, Shaylee, Zayden, and Maxus have all split up, and gone in separat directions, they are also still alive. **

**Next, I'm sorry for everybody I killed in this chapter. Sorry to Stnaley for killing Contra, and sorry to Jakey121 for killing Kyvan. **

**Please review this chapter, and tell me what you think should happen next! Who do you think should win? Who should die? Who should the careers hunt down next? I just love reading each and every one of my reviews, they always bring a smile to my face. I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow or maybe the next day, it all depends on how much I need to write. It will probably be a "Day Three Continued" so that I can do some clarification and updates on how everybody is doing.**

**Your Gamemaker,**

**Bluebird**


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